Haulout

Hi to everyone,

Well, we made it safely back to Whangarei from the Barrier and hauled out at the Norsand Boatyard on March 10th. All went without a hitch and we were parked in almost the same spot that we had occupied before. We have been sanding the topsides and scribing a new waterline higher than the old one as with all the cruising gear we have accumulated the Tiare was floating somewhat lower!! The new waterline will be by way of a boot top which will look quite smart. Scribing the new line was very involved and actually took one and a half days with shooting levels and use of a string line and wedges to acheive the correct sheer in the line to not only match the old line, but also to blend with the hull shape and sheer lines generally. Then we had to burn off the old paint in the area of the boot top back to bare timber to start a new paint system for the boot top antifouling. Nothing with a boat is simple if you do things properly!

We were going to then start painting a finish coat on the topsides yesterday but we had decided to try a brand of paint called "Hempel" which has international renown; however, we found it was like trying to paint treacle and also the weather started to look threatening. So that was abandoned and we will go back to a brand we have used before and know. Today we have been engaged in the fascinating and exciting job of cleaning the bilge! Add to this the fact that the hose from the bilge pump blocked and then the pump itself blocked and it made for a very fulfilling afternoon! Needless to say after much head scratching and the odd word we won't repeat here the job was at last accomplished.

We've had to remove the water maker pump for servicing and that should be re-installed later this week. We've had an awning made (which will also be able to catch water) and Gina has been consulting widely re mosquito netting and the method of covering openings. She is almost ready to start making them.

On a more personal level last weekend we went to Auckland for the house warming of Gina's sister Heather's new property between Tuakau and Port Waikato. We had a great time with Heather and Magan out there and there were many of their family present. Some of us  had a hilarious time in the spa pool later.

However, just before we were due to leave Whangarei we had a phone call from  Jim's brother to say that their mother (who is 89) hasd been taken seriously ill and had been admitted to hospital the day before. She has been in frail health for some time and this latest episode was seen as life threatening and very serious. However, it turned out that while she had incurred a blood infection probably from a leg injury, she started to perk up and now in fact is scheduled to return home in 2 days time! In the meantime however, Jim was in the hospital at 4 and 5 in the morning for 8 hour stretches over 2 consecutive days (the latter visit after a 1 hour drive back from Tuakau in the early hours!) and so hardly had a restful time. On top of that his welcome was less than cordial as his mother for some reason has adopted a most disapproving attitude to the offshore sailing enterprise and has labelled it as irresponsible!! This is in spite of the fact that there are thousands of yachts worldwide sailing the oceans every day and very few come to grief. In fact driving from here to Auckland is infinitely more hazardous as the Easter road toll is confirming. If the same number of people (8 at last count) had been killed in some yachting disaster it would be front page news for days but the road toll hardly raises an eyebrow. Anyway the anxiety over his mother and his subsequent  reception has made for an extremely unpleasant emotional roller coaster over the past few days so it's great to be back in the boatyard again among the yachting cruising fraternity many of whom have become friends and who we will no doubt see again during our upcoming ocean voyaging adventures.   

Jim as going to Christchurch on the 8th. to see his youngest daughter, Charlotte and her husband Jon and their 2 yr old daughter, Lucia. The 1st grandchild!! It will be great to see them before we take off in a month or so.

More news on boat maintenance (you can't wait we can tell!) and the Christchurch visit will soon be forthcoming. Watch this space.

Cheers,

J & G (J)