Get Lost On Purpose

Category: New Zealand

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
Back to the Bay of Islands

We are back in the Bay of Islands, home of the most awkward morning VHF net in the world. Last time we were here, we found Opua boring and expensive (up to $40NZ for a round trip cab to Paihia, less than 5 miles down the road). The only positive things I could find were the giant burgers at the Marina Cafe and the friendly guys at Cater Marine. I now know that it was our own damn fault for sitting in Opua the whole time and not getting out to see the rest of the Bay. Come to think of it, other than checking in, giving the boat a quick washdown, and fixing whatever you broke on the passage south, I can see NO REASON for sitting ANY amount of time in Opua. Seeing as how the marina is full due to Bay Islands Race Week, we’ve been relegated to the outer anchorages. When I started this post, for instance, we were sitting just off the main dock of Paihia tucked behind a little island called Motumaire. Last night we moved over to Russell, and right now Dosia is anchored in a bay just outside the channel leading into Kerikeri.

For the Kiwis, the Bay of Islands is the next best thing to Tonga and Fiji. As the name implies, it’s a large bay with lots of islands and anchorages, some of which have semi-clear water. I keep reading blog posts and articles about people enjoying the “clear waters” of this area and I have no idea what they are talking about. I guess if I were comparing the waters here to Auckland harbor or say, the Mississippi delta, I would consider them clear. But coming from the islands of the South Pacific, no chance. I do have to say I’m more impressed with the Bay on this trip around. When we were last here in November it was early in the season. There weren’t a lot of boats and without the Kiwis on holidays, the towns were filled with European backpackers. Now it’s quite different. The beaches are packed, the towns are filled, and the anchorages are almost overflowing. Although many cruisers would disagree, I find this a much more enjoyable time to be here. We did a little Sunday morning hike on Urupukapuka Island with Betsy and Richard from s/v Qayak. Here’s a couple of shots. We’ve decided this place is a lot more beautiful from above than it is at eye level.

We’re steadily watching the weather waiting on our chance to pounce the Tasman Sea. Meanwhile we’re taking care of small projects on Dosia and setting her up for her new owners. We’re also maintaining Marge and making sure she’s prepped for the passage. Yesterday we had one of her wisdom teeth removed! We put some new photos up so make sure you check them out and as always, thanks for reading!

January 18, 2010
Back to NZ – The Plan

After a short month in the states visiting friends and family we returned to Auckland on New Years Eve morning. Due to some previous planning, we knew to expect our friends Geoff and Julie from s/v Flashback in the same hotel as us overlooking the Viaduct Harbor (actually our hotel overlooked the Viaduct but our budget rooms had more of a city/parking garage view). We haven’t seen them in over three months, which, in the scheme of things, isn’t all that long. But regardless, the champagne came out and the festivities quickly began. About two hours before the countdown (almost one full day before you guys on the East Coast of the U.S. were even thinking about it) we headed down to the harbor to join up with a bunch of other cruising friends on board Wayward Wind. As the clock struck twelve we hugged those aboard, many of whom have been a substantial part of the memories we created in this past year living aboard Dosia and having these islands of the South Pacific be our home away from home.

We spent the first days of this new year with Geoff & Jules packing in as much as possible. Two very quick day trips-one to Bayswater Marina just on the other side of the harbor from downtown Auckland to see our dear friends Richard & Krista of m/v Karma & then one to Waiheke Island and its beutiful wine vineyards to see our buddies Tane & Tomas of s/v Kena. We could have spent many, many days seeing vineyard after vineyard but alas, Dosia was waiting for us in Whangarei, we were anxious to see how she held up by herself for the past month and a half, and because of one very important reason there was work to be done…

While it is bittersweet for both of us, we are getting Dosia ready for our last big trip aboard. We have a good feeling it will not be her last. As you already know, Dosia went up for sale before we left Vava’u, Tonga back in October. Well, she actually went under contract only a few weeks after we began advertising her. The new owners, Trevor and Ali Curtis, a young couple from Gold Coast, Australia are anxiously awaiting delivery.

We agreed to take care of a few routine maintenance issues (like new bottom paint and batteries) here in New Zeland before delivery. So for the last week, we’ve done just that. Dosia hauls out tomorrow morning for a fresh bottom painting, few days to dry, and then we’re looking for the weather window that will carry us acorss the Tasman Sea to Brisbane. From there, we’re not quite sure of the plan. We have no reservations or tickets for anything and it’s the height of tourist season in both countries. We want to see as much of Australia as possible while we are there and then return to NZ and tour the South Island. But we also already have jobs lined up back in the States and can’t spend too much time touring around!

January 9, 2010
Just enjoyin’ our time in NZ…

It didn’t take long to get reacquainted with life on land after having been away from it for a while. Well, I take that back…reacquainted to life on land where you can get anything you need, anytime, anywhere. Life in New Zealand is life made simple again which probably accounts for why we’ve gone a wall on our website since our arrival. The Tuesday we got here we hit the ground running, we hit it quick, and we haven’t stopped since. Due to lack of sleep for the last two nights at sea Drew settled in for a nap Tuesday before last while I, not at all sleep deprived, set off to mingle amongst those whom had arrived and were safely nestled into their slips at the Opua Marina. I was with Marc & Jane of s/v Imagine enjoying a nice beer when their daughter, Caroline, yelled from outside, “mom, Zen is here.” I knew I’d only had a sip of my beer so I wasn’t hearing things but thought there was no way she could be right. One look outside and I couldn’t believe my eyes!

Sure enough, Tom, Monique, Cammi, & Cole had driven up from Whangarei to surprise us. I had no idea that Whangarei was only an hour down the road, they might as well have traveled from Tonga, but nonetheless, in my heart it felt the same and the tears began. One would think I hadn’t seen these amazing friends in years when in fact it had barely been a month. Oh, they just make me that happy! Hugs all around, “what are you doing here?”s, and a quick plan derived to awake a napping Drew with the surprise. Unfortunately we weren’t as slick as we’d hoped and he heard us coming but he was shocked, nonetheless, and within ten minutes it was decided that we had to go to their house with them. According to Monique, we had no choice. So off we went. A quick dinner in town and one scary as hell on the other side of the road hour long drive later we were nestled snug in their living room. One night turned to two and we had a ball just hanging out, cooking, eating, exploring, shopping, laughing, doing laundry, sleeping in a big cozy bed, enjoying very fast/free internet, and taking hot showers as long as we wanted. It was heaven.

Back in Opua on Thursday, we took even more time to breath and relax for a bit. Spent several nights being groupies to our buddy Alan from s/v Follow You, Follow Me. He’s a drummer and often finds local musicians at ports so he can jam. He played alongside a local named, Trippy, another named, Dan, and wherever they played we went cause they were fantastic! Lots and lots of emails from everyone asking what it looks like here and unfortunately, we haven’t a whole lot of time to really explore just yet. Cabs here are RIDICULOUSLY expensive so unless we can bum a ride off of a fellow cruiser then we stick pretty close to the marina. Had to go to the bank in town the other day, about a 5 mile ride, and the cabbie was going to charge me $40NZ to get there and back. Ummm, no thank you. One of the sweet ladies in the marine insurance office asked if I knew how to drive on the left side of the ride and I said, “sure!” Her car turned out to be a stick shift which I’m familiar with but wasn’t accustomed to doing so with my left hand. Some things you learn never go away so my memories of driving my first car which was a stick clicked in and I made it safe and sound. It was fun!

Night before last we sailed from Opua to Whangarei and are prepping Dosia for her month long slumber party here. Drew and I catch a bus to Auckland Sunday morning and are going to be spending two jammed packed days and luxurious nights in the SKYCITY Grand Hotel. I absolutely cannot wait to use my birthday present and be pampered in the spa on Monday afternoon but not before I defy death and jump off the Sky Tower! One would think that after seven months of a gals toes not seeing a pedi that I could get one free and clear but nope. Drew and I are both scheduled to leap off the tallest structure in the Southern Hemisphere that morning and from that accomplishment comes the spa package. Tuesday we catch our flights home and will be stateside until the end of December! We have every intention of maintaining the blog while home so for now we’ll just say thanks for following us along these past seven months. It’s been an unbelievable journey, one we look forward to continuing next year. Happy Holidays and much love to you all from both Drew and myself!

November 20, 2009