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.