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Hi to all,
As usual we hope that this finds everyone in the pink.
First we must bring you up to date with the latest developments with our old girl "Tiare Taporo III". We hated having to virtually abandon her on the hard in Fethiye in the hands of a very volatile and unpredictable boatyard owner, but in our own personal interests we had no choice. We had worked like dogs for the first days after the haulout in late April and all the sanding, painting and varnishing above deck had been re-done - some not done since NZ 7 years ago!! Lots of kneeling on deck with the faithful kneepads! We then left Turkey on June 4th. after the inexplicable deterioration in our relationship with the yard, more or less emotional wrecks, but the sojourn in Germany with Josie and Reinhard did bring us somewhat back to near normal - whatever that is!
However, we are now pleased to advise that since those sad days back in Turkey, we have received an offer from a UK wooden boat enthusiast via a UK classic yacht broker that we had had her listed with for some 2 years now. But no doubt because she was now in the Mediterranean area, the proposition was more attractive together with the fact that the price had been reduced massively.The price we will not mention because it will probably make you cry, but at least the deal is clean from our point of view as the buyer will pay all the yard costs which have now been quantified and our Turkish agent's costs. He will also need to keep her in the ECE Saray Marina in Fethiye until about March next year when the northern spring starts and he can commence the sailing to Britain - her spiritual home. At least the ECE's costs long term are very reasonable - less than half what we were paying in Langkawi.
As a footnote, we have become aware through our purchaser that we are not the only boatowners to have run foul of this particular yard owner, so we can stop thinking that there's something wrong with us!!
It is sad that we have missed sailing in the Med but we have also missed the attendant costs and we are now free to properly get on with our new lives in our 72nd. years. And we also need to look at the fact that she has provided us with accommodation and some unforgettable experiences over the last 9 years or so and those are things that are not really totally quantifiable in financial terms.
The main thing for us in all of this saga is that she will be going to a good home in Falmouth, Cornwall and will continue to be be properly cherished as a very special yacht. The buyer has paid a deposit but the agreement is so far verbal, although a written offer has been made with the proviso that a few details need modifying. However, after phone calls and emails we are sure that the sale will proceed and a very special and almost unique yacht from NZ will find a proper home. Only 2 Gauntlets were ever built in NZ and our old girl is one of them. Both were built in Wellington and the other ("Ruawaka") has now been in the UK for some years. "Ruawaka" is of Kauri diagonal construction and is a 14 tonner. Our old girl is straight NZ Kauri planked (carvel) construction and copper and bronze fastened and displaces 12 tons. "Ruawaka"was built up on the side of a hill more or less above Evans Bay where TT3 was built in a shed on the shore. Maybe they will meet again but they are both now lost to NZ for ever due to the world-wide lack of appreciation of these unique and very special vessels. And that sadly includes NZ.
We have been getting on with life in Medellin. We stayed initially in a 15th. floor studio apartment in the Suramericana district of Medellin and it suited our needs very well. It was only a 5 minute walk to a major supermarket and was just what we needed after the tumultuous events of the last 7 weeks or so. It has seemed like 7 years. We had a number of appointments with our lawyer, Dr. Astrid Melendez, who has started the process of applying for permanent residency. Astrid has been a great help to us and has become a good friend. We had to get apostilled (annotated) documents sent from NZ by courier and they have just arrived. They now need to be translated into Spanish and that could not be done by anyone except a properly accredited local interpreter, so that's the next step.
The last 3 nights in the Suramericana apartment were marred by the fact that there was a major roof replacement project going on which would have covered at least a couple of acres of buildings. Good to see and during the first part of our stay was interesting to watch as the work was all being done during the day, but for some inexplicable reason on the 3rd to last night they started working at night beginning at 10pm and finishing at daylight - hammers, power tools and floodlights! Not good for sleep.
However, we are now happily ensconced with our neighbour, Janet Giraldo, on the 5th. floor of "our" builldng at Jardines de la Maria in Envigado. Janet and Hugo have very generously offered us a room in their apartment and it feels like coming home. We cannot move into our 8th. floor apartment until the 1st. of November when the lease expires. Janet's English is not much better than our Spanish so we are communicating by a translation app on our smartphones mostly. A little laborious but works tolerably well and good for the learning process. Note that Jim has been dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st. century with the recent purchase of a smartphone! But even he can see at least some of the benefits!
We will see what happens with the residency applications but, apart from the necessity for a visit to Colombian Immigration in Bogota,there should be no problem. We have an intention to later spend some time at Santa Marta on the Carribbean coast from where Jean will pay a visit to Miami for Carter's 5th. birthday on October 5th.The thought of that takes us back because 5 years ago we were floating around in the Java Sea south of Singapore when we learnt of Carter's birth, then in NZ. So much water has passed under the keel since then.
We have been doing a bit of walking around Suramericana and Laureles and finding some good restaurants and health shops. The phone translation app is invaluable. One restaurant in particular, a pizza joint, had excellent thin based and crisp pizzas. But it's been great to be back in Envigado - much leafier and cooler. It is a fact that Poblado and Envigado are cooler than the lower flat areas of Laureles etc. Not that Envigado is hilly exactly - just a bit more elevated and many more trees. If you look at Medellinliving, it does make reference to the different temperatures in various areas of the city.
It has been fascinating to be in Medellin for the Soccer World Cup. We were in Poblado when Colombia beat Senegal and the excitement was infectious - people all over the streets yahooing in their yellow shirts and red, blue and yellow balloons everywhere - including armed police but no issues. Then we were in a restaurant where there were several large TV screens a few days later when Colombia was playing England. Huge excitement whenever Colombia even looked like scoring - and then a 1-1 draw which caused a sudden death goal kicking play-off. Such disappointment when England eventually won the play-off 4-3. The dejection was palpable. The atmosphere was redolent of the Sunday morning in Auckland when France beat the All Blacks for the Rugby World Cup. Not sure of the year now, but at least 18 years ago and Jim can still recall that you could hear a pin drop!
We've had a couple of visits to the Clinica Las Vegas Hospital (Dr. Mauricio Arias-Alzate) who speaks excellent English and had various tests which have come back satisfactory. Jim's blood sugar is still slightly elevated at 8.0 but Jean had an ECG and that was fine. We just need to address her on-going bouts of indigestion which are a bit of a concern. Have just written to the Island Hospital in Penang to get her test results sent here. Hopefully they can do that.
Well, that's about it for now - we'll let you know the final outcome for the old girl. Fingers crossed that all will be OK and that she will continue to be cherished by a new owner as she deserves.
Finally some political comments (again!!) -
We continue to have great admiration for President Donald Trump. One might feel disquieted from time to time at his methods and seeming blundering at times, but the recent news of the trade deal with the EU is the best news in a long while. It will sideline Russia's deal with Europe via the natural gas pipeline which would have only been used as a blackmail instrument in the future, and it will also sideline China to where they belong due to predatory trade practices including outright theft of intellectual property. It seems quite obvious that diplomatic niceties do NOT work when dealing with gangster nations like these who have no intention of observing any so-called agreements that might have been made in good faith.There is no good faith where either Russia or China are concerned and Donald Trump's methods are the only ones ever likely to succeed in ultimately persuading these rogue nations (including North Korea and Iran by the way) to act reasonably and fairly in international relations. Winston Churchill's comment during the darkest days of WW2 when the British Army was trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk and some senior members of the Conservative Party wanted to capitulate to Hitler, comes to mind. He famously said - "how can you negotiate with a tiger when your head is in its mouth?". A little bit extreme perhaps as the current situation isn't quite the same, but the comment bears remembering nonetheless.
Another comment which we feel we must make. We have just read in the NZ Herald a report that the Kiwi dollar had strengthened slightly against the USD. All due to the US/EU trade deal apparently, but NO acknowledgement that Trump's trade policies might have had something to do with it. So hypocritical, sycophantic and sickening that a major influence on NZ public attitudes could behave in this pathetic way. One hopes that a significant and more intelligent part of the population can see through this appalling charade.
We feel somewhat despairing of Britain's efforts to exit the EU with a modicum of a "soft" Brexit. Such is the disgraceful continual infighting between MP's whose sole objective should be to respect the British people's decision to leave and ensure that the best exit deal possible could be negotiated, that we can have no confidence that the eventual outcome will be satisfactory. There is no doubt that the USA stands ready to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement with the UK, but even that could be in jeopardy if the final outcome is less than satisfactory and possibly prevents such an agreement.
Some of you no doubt will not agree with these comments. That's perfectly fine with us, but history as always will ultimately show whether the correct path has now been taken.
Lotsaluv from us in Medellin............
Jim and Jean
