Get Lost On Purpose

Category: Food

Big Cities in OZ prove to be a fav for me!

I’ve always enjoyed the occasional shopping excursion as much as the next gal but as of summer last year I’ve been forced into having to basically replace a wardrobe. While gone for our trip, somewhere in the mix of things, miscommunication between my mom and I led to ALL of my spring/summer clothes…ALL of them other than the few things I had on the boat…being given away to our church. When my mom told me that my mouth dropped to my feet. Ten years of clothes…gone. What could I do? Be mad…no. They went to a good cause and I hope someone who really needed it is enjoying my all time favorite black dress. We are returning to the States as spring arrives and so Drew and I have both been aware of my need for some new clothes. While I was excited to look around when we got to Australia I wouldn’t exactly say I was looking forward to it. Over the years I’ve seen too many cute dresses in the window only to go in to try it on and it fit everywhere on me but up top. And swimsuits…FORGET ABOUT IT! Much to my surprise though the stores in Australia were unbelievable and shopping there became my best friend for a couple of weeks. The stores were any girls paradise as there were LOTS of them whether they were lining the streets or neatly stacked inside of what on the outside looks like a run down building. There were price ranges for any budget as well as opposed to some places we’ve been where all I could do was laugh at some of the things I found. Not there though… I was in shopping heaven!

Poor Drew…he was such the trooper! I offered many times to go by myself but whether it was fear of me roaming the city alone or fear of me having money in my hands without his supervision, he chose to stick by me and for days on end he was in and out, in and out of store, after store, after store. Going home to run a bed and breakfast I knew I would need some nice stuff and was definitely able to get a good head start with what I was able to find in Australia. I highly recommend it to any gal out there that doesn’t sport a stick figure.

Looking back on it I enjoyed Australia for many reasons other than those most people normally peg it for. The coastal drive was fun and offered us a great view of some of Australia’s beaches but I most enjoyed the shopping, the casino in Sydney which was good to us so that probably put it on my list, and the larger city feel of Sydney & Melbourne was a warm welcome for Drew and myself as well. I know he mentioned in a previous post that we like big cities…the noise, the people watching, the shopping, the FOOD!!! Melbourne probably is at the top of my list as one of my all time favorite cities ever as it was a perfect melting pot!

February 25, 2010
Almost time to go…

Well hello! Happy belated new year to everybody. The days have quickly ticked by since our arrival back to New Zealand and in the midst of it all I have failed to post this year! In preparation for our trip across the Tasman my significant other has been up to his elbows in boat projects for two days straight. Most cruising wives/girlfriends can back me up in that more often than not, the best way to help out on days such as these is to just stay out of the way. So here I sit on the couch, legs tucked underneath me, trying to leave as much room as possible for my boat monkey to get his work done. We’ve been given the go ahead by Bob McDavitt, a weather guru god if you will to the sailing community, to set sail for Australia this week. We wait now on our alternator to be returned to us and then there’s nothing else I can think of that would delay the inevitable any longer. It’s passage time, once again.

Thus come mid afternoon tomorrow the galley will be ablaze with sauces, casseroles, boiling chicken breasts, chopped this, and chopped that. I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Knocking out any, or possibly all, cooking that would otherwise have to be done at sea is a hands down must for yours truly. If you’ve followed us along our journey through any previous passages then you are probably fully aware of my ridiculous fear of gimbal stoves. At anchor, I’ll cook all day but when there is motion in the ocean, I’d rather eat cardboard.

After more than a year of this incredible lifestyle, the stove and I (at sea) I have thus far failed to establish a good relationship and its in sensitiveness has made more cry on way more than one occasion. You label me any name in the book you want to…punanny, pansy, or even worse a different p word…I could care less. There are many women far braver than I who tackle their own gimbal stove with no fear whatsoever but I, unfortunately, have been unable to do so. It’s a fear I hope to conquer…one day.

Speaking of conquering fears, last night I layed awake for a solid hour. My armpits were sweating. I was nervous. Drew was dead to the world. There was no one trying to come aboard Dosia and inflict bodily harm on me. I was merely thinking about the bungee jumps that are waiting to taunt me when we arrive back in New Zealand to travel the South Island. Will I find the gonads to jump? Just how pissed will I be at myself if I return back to the States having not taken the plunge(s)? My dad writes me the other day…”Marge, do me a favor. If you’re going to jump off of anything or out of anything, please wait until after you do so to tell your mother.” Thus he enforces the fact that its all dangerous. I don’t crave the danger. I really don’t. It didn’t thrill me to stand on the edge of that Sky Tower in Auckland and look down over my toes at a distance so great it looked like the building beneath me was inverted. All the while a giant bulls eye was there to guide me “home.” It reminded me later of the skit Ron White did that time where the guy asks him how far the single engine plane they were riding in was going to take them and he replied, “all the way to the scene of the crash.” I cried like a little girl. The fear that consumed me was so intense. Mascara was streaming down my face so bad the guy had to delay my jump so I could wipe it off just to be able to watch as I plunged to the earth. However, as soon as I went, as soon as I was falling, I loved every second of it. I know that I would love sky diving over the incredible Nelson Lakes or bungee jumping in Queenstown. I will hope every night for the courage to take the plunge when the time comes…

Until then I’ll continue to partake in wonderful events that aren’t so life threatening like our buddy, Tom’s from s/v Zen, birthday the other day. Being the dessert lover that he is, I whipped up a cake for him and his lovely wife, Monique, took a small group of us out to lunch to celebrate in Paihia. The day was full of good food, great laughs, awesome music, and incredible company. I am going to miss these people that I’ve formed these bonds with out here so much when this is all said and done. There isn’t a single wave that would have been the same without them, or Drew, by my side.

January 25, 2010
Regatta Vava’u 2009

This past Tuesday, September 1st, for the first time my brother became a daddy, my parents became grandparents, my other two brothers became uncles, and my sister and I aunts for the first time! My oldest brother, Rhett, and his wife, Kellie, welcomed a beautiful, healthy little boy named Reo Wesley Kopp. I will have to vicariously relish in my role as Aunt Marge (even though I’m hoping to come up with something a bit cooler than that) via pics for the next two and a half months. I haven’t even met this little person yet and already my heart is flooded with love for him and I can barely look at pics without crying. As I get older and my siblings begin to have children, for the first time in my life I am able to understand what I’ve heard from so many all these years that there is nothing greater than one’s love for their child. If pictures tug at my heart like those I’ve seen of my nephew, I can only imagine, and greatly look forward to, the amazement, admiration, and love that must come from having one of my own. Drew’s looking at me like…hold up there missy. No worries honey I’m not saying it has to be now!

The first annual Vava’u Regatta is in full force and even the rain hasn’t been able to dampen the spirits of all those involved. The committee who heads this event must be incredibly pleased with the turnout as almost every boat in the harbor is partaking in the festivities. Each boat involved received a “passport” and at the end of the regatta prizes will be awarded to those who have the most stamps. To get them you visit all the local businesses and of course, spending money there will get you a stamp worth more points and then there have been tons of events going on as well. There was the pub crawl, a Fun Day for the kids, the Governor’s Cup Race, a Full Moon Party, pot lucks on several of the outer anchorage beaches, and today….dun, dun, dunnnn….the cornhole tourny! I have to be honest with you. I have never attempted to play cornhole at 10 o’clock in the morning as my past experiences were always at UGA tailgates before football games. Seeing how Drew and I are two of the very few who even know what cornhole is here, a short description might be necessary for some of our readers. Cornhole is nothing more than a slanted piece of plywood with a hole in the middle and the goal of the game is to toss a beanbag through the hole from about twenty or so feet away. A dead ringer will score you the most points and anything other than that is judged based off of closeness. In my mind I know that this game has become nothing short of a phenomenon for fans of teams in the SEC because it another ploy to have an excuse to drink. Even on island time ten in the morning is a little early for beers, at least for me, so this will have to played for nothing more than sheer, heart racing, exhilerating fun. We’ll be sure to let you know how it turns out!

The foul weather sidelined Dosia for the Governor’s Cup Race this past Saturday so Cole from s/v Zen hopped on board with us and we motored along next to the race and pulled three dinghies for other racing boats. Ironic that we don’t even OWN a dinghy right now but we had three with us that day. Zen came in third for the catamaran category and it was fun listening to Drew and ten year old Cole’s commentary and play by plays. That night the race was followed up by the Full Moon Party and they really out did themselves. I expected nothing more than a bonfire on a beach and was surprised to find a bbq, dinghy VALET, music videos on a large projection screen run by generators, a DJ, and lots and lots of dancing. The moon finally poked through the clouds a little after ten and the glow lit the dance floor. We heard rumors that the last people standing were there until 4:30 in the morning. More power to ’em! Tomorrow wraps up the regatta and tomorrow night is Aaron from s/v Wayward Wind’s 40th birthday. His girlfriend, Lauren, has arranged a pig roast so yummy eats will be in order for sure. It’s been full steam ahead, birthdays galore, non stop socializing since we arrived a little over two weeks ago. My parents have always told me that I need to learn to just say no sometimes but out here, the time you have with a lot of these people is all you’ve got. Chances of seeing most of them again are going to be slim to none. So while we can we’ll enjoy, partake, and continue to make memories with our cruising “family,” and then come Wednesday we’ll be able to get back to the outer anchorages, have some down time, and really do some exploring in the waters of this great island nation.

September 6, 2009
New Adventures in Niue

Charts showing several more days of foul weather in Beveridge Reef were enough to convince us that our departure from there should come sooner than we had planned. We’d definitely recommend a stop there to any other cruisers headed in that direction but unfortunately our own experience of the reef was limited because of the weather, temperatures, and the loss of our beloved dinghy. Patrick and Rebecca, s/v Brickhouse, were fantastic in carting us to and from the boat to the reef so Drew could do some spear fishing but I don’t even have a wet suit so I spent most of my time on the boat. It was time to go. We took with us the memory of our first whale sighting of this year, a freezer full of fresh grouper, and a lifelong lesson in that when going to other people’s boats, always tie off your own dinghy. One can never assume that your dinghy rope is the same as the next boater. An honest mistake but, nonetheless, a lesson learned the hard way.

Dosia did her best to cheer us up in absolutely kicking butt on the overnight sail from the reef to Niue. At anywhere from 6 1/2 to 8 knots, we completed the 130 miles in about 20 hours. Now I am not the kind of boater who has that intoxicating need for speed like most. If anything, when we start flying over waves at too great a speed I get a little anxious and uneasy. This trip, however, brought speeds we hadn’t seen in a while and of course they came at a time when we didn’t need them as we’d arrive in Niue before daylight. Drew and I quickly decided that we’d hook a mooring by early morning moonlight if we had to because there was no way we were giving up the chance to really, really feel the wind. So we rode it out, enjoyed every second of it, and were on a mooring ball in Niue by sunrise, enjoying our morning coffee.

Niue has been an incredible breath of fresh air thus far. The water is still a bit chilly, there is a definite nip in the air, but who thinks about those things when you’ve got 15 to 20 humpbacks swimming, literally, FEET from your boat!? July to October they take over the waters off the coast of this island to breed and we are lucky enough to be here during those months. The waters most certainly belong to them, we are their guests, and respect must be paid. They could sink Dosia in a heartbeat if we pissed them off somehow. Some boats throughout the harbor have been able to hear them talking/communicating at night through the walls of their vessels. Unfortunately (at least in this particular instance) Drew insulated the walls a little too well so we can only hear them when they rise to the surface to breathe. To be in their presence, this close, is one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. Each sighting is another reminder to me how grand and massive this ocean is that Drew and I are living our lives on right now.

If you are looking for sandy beaches and palm trees then don’t head for Niue. Jagged shorelines, caves, and deeper anchorages make up this island-the smallest island nation in the world. We spent most of yesterday with s/v Honeymoon and s/v Follow You, Follow Me in a rented van exploring all the eastern coast had to offer. Five of us donned our best hiking shoes, Drew…his flip flops due to blisters from spear fishing excursions on the reef, to tackle three different chasms, or caves. The land here is brimming with dated, aged coral that is probably hundreds upon hundreds of years old. Although in appearance it is rather sharp and uninviting, we wasted no time in tackling shorelines, climbing in and out of caves, getting chased by bone crushing waves, rope climbing down into a sloping cave to the freshwater pools below, and capping the day off with well earned beers at the local, and only, resort on the island, the Matavai Resort. Drew and I could barely keep or eyes open past 8 p.m. last night. Tonight, dinner aboard Follow You, Follow Me. As I write, Drew is preparing some of our fresh grouper to take as bite size appetizers, as most cruisers haven’t had any luck in catching fresh fish in the the Pacific waters this year. Pictures of the cave excursions and the whales will be up A.S.A.P.!

Happy Birthday to both Drew’s Dad and his Nanny who celebrated her 91st birthday on Monday : ) We love y’all!

August 12, 2009