FEBRUARY ALREADY

How the time flies when you are having fun.
We had a quiet Christmas here at the marina at Tutukaka and on Boxing Day headed North with another couple on their boat who berth opposite us. We didn't go far - spent the night at anchor in Whangaruru Bay.
Next day we started off early to travel to Whangaroa Harbour but developed engine overheating problems so sailed to nearby Whangamumu Harbour and the boys had to get dirty in the engine room. At first there appeared to be nothing wrong but eventually found that seaweed had got into a bend in the water intake area. The joys of boating !
It was not all bad. We girls fished and we were treated by a pod of dolphins coming into the bay and making a spectacular show-off display of themselves. There was stil just time to get to Whangaroa so we went for it and got into the West Arm at around 7pm.
We had a very pleasant time up there. A lot of boats from "E-Street" (our wharf finger) at Tutukaka Marina arrived, not really planned that way but it was good to see the New Year in with the people we know. Everyone gathered on "Divine Decadence" - the huge yacht that is tied up at the end of "E-Street" usually. They had people with dive gear aboard so there was no shortage of scallops, mussells etc.

We came back for a few weeks because I had an exhibition at the Matapouri Hall (next bay north of here) that I wanted to go to which was done by a friend who belongs to the Geneoalogy and History Societies. Really well done and I met some of my fellow Clements descendants that she grew up with and who live around about. On the right is one of them - my second cousin Jeanette who showed her old family photos at that table which were mostly about timber milling in the area in the early 1900's.

John had to attend a Marina Management Trust Meeting (yes, he got elected onto it) which was a week after that. By then others were also coming home to Tutukaka.




In the meantime a couple of Australian friends Bob and Sandra Sutton arrived back in NZ after having had to return to Australia so that Bob could have an operation. A friend of theirs, Jim, flew out from Australia to join them. After a week at Great Barrier they called into Tutukaka on their way to the Bay of Islands but only stayed a night because we decided to go north with them after insisting that they see the Whangaroa Harbour before sailing back to Australia. They thought it looked like Jurassic Park and enjoyed the fishing - they are very keen fishermen. We went back to the Bay of Islands with them and put the anchor down at a different bay each night. We spent one day ashore at Russell where we had lunch at the Duke of Marlborough Hotel (very old).
Erin and Ivan caught up with us and we all enjoyed a very pleasant evening on board their yacht "Masada" (bigger than the 'Queen Mary' !) with the guitar and ukelele singing everything from Waltzing Mathilda to How Great Thou Art.
We left them all the next day because the weather forecast was not great and we wanted to get back before rather than after the bad spell.
Suttons are now waiting for the right weather across the Tasman Sea to sail back to Australia and will clear Customs at Opua.


The Suttons yacht "Ray of Sunshine" with Jim at the wheel and Bob in the red shirt in
Whangaroa.



So now the boats of "E-Street" are all settled back in their usual berths and life is getting back to normal. Ken has managed to erect the hard-top to his boat that he has been making for some time now so the "Tutukaka Thinking Mens' Drinking Club" can sort it all out in some shade.
Here is John and Ken arranging the agenda before the others arrive.