Tuesday 23 February 2010

More wanderings

Hi to all,
Well,thankfully the wind diminished overnight and we motored around to Putiki Bay on the south side of Waiheke and as close as we could get to the supermarket etc. at Ostend. We went ashore at the end of Wharf Rd. and were met by Shane Ivory who had bought Waiheke Wines and Spirits back in 1998. Shane was a huge help to us as he took us to a place where we could get one of our gas bottles refilled and then dropped us at the supermarket where we spent up large replenishing our stores. Fruit and veges are the main items and it's a real treat to have some fresh ones again. Today was even more nostalgic for Jim because this was the heart of his old stamping ground for the best part of 5 years and the scene of a lot of hard work.
On Sunday Perry (Gina's son) and his girlfriend, Tracie and Gina's neice, Pritika all came to the island and we met them out at the Onetangi Beach Cafe for lunch. It was a beautiful day and the lunch with Waiheke wines was excellent. Earlier Jim had walked along the road and looked at the old Onetangi pub building (now private apartments). This was where in June 1994 Jim lived for about a month while the living accomodation in the shop (the Barn!) was being organised. He and his ex wife lived there while on the island and retained their house on Birkenhead Point in Auckland for escaping to! However, in hindsight it would have been far better to have sold Birkenhead and bought on the island because living would have been so much easier and maybe the business then would have been easier to run and may not have been sold. Certainly Waiheke (and in particular real estate) has boomed further in the intervening years.
It was great to see Perry, Tracie and Pritika in such a beautiful relaxed setting and afterwards Pritika came out to the boat to have a look as she hadn't been on board before. Perry had flown in from Melbourne where he is based on Friday and was due to return on Monday morning so it was flying visit. In the past 3 months he has been to Canada and Greece in the course of his business so he is a real globetrotter!
Then on Monday we had been invited to lunch at Shane's place but before that we decided to get some laundry done ashore as well as buying some more provisions! We discovered that the laundry wanted $25 to do our washing citing the water shortage as the reason for the high price but, had we realised this we would have hand washed everything on the boat as we normally do anyway, but sheets are a bit of a problem on the boat. Still, this is what we will do in future and as long as our watermaker works well we shouldn't have a problem with water.
Lunch was wonderful and Shane and Colleen have a lovely house up high overlooking the inner part of Putiki Bay. We had a great time relaxing and reminiscing about old times.
Then today we sadly took our leave of Waiheke and motored the whole way around the southern shores of Waikeke, past Orapiu, through the Ruthe Pasasage and across to Te Kouma Harbour (Squadron Bay)on the Coromandel Peninsula. The wind or what there was of it was right on the nose so sailing would have been a very long winded affair and we needed to charge batteries and make more water in any case so here we are. At the moment we are intending to leave for Great Barrier tomorrow ( a distance of about 45 miles) as there is a favourable wind forecast and we are looking forward to a good sail. There is a possibility we may stay here for another day - will depend on the weather in the morning and the forecast. So, it is now 2230 and time for a shower and bed. The anchorage here is beautiful and sheltered, although one could hardly say quiet as there are 14 other boats in the bay. It's surprising to see so many boats still around as it's mid week and the holiday period is finished but perhaps one can put it down to the proliferation of ageing baby boomers (like us) who are retiring and spending their time out on the water!
There will be further fascinating news of our doings once we have arrived at the Barrier. In the meantime hope all is well with everyone and will as always be pleased to hear from you.
Cheers,
J & J (G)

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