Funny how people ask "have you ever had any bad weather at sea ?"...the answer is almost a lie,as one tends to forget just how bad it has been sometimes, :) but the other night when tied to the marine we had sustained winds of 47 knots !!! We thought we might have been going to join the launch opposite us, but all ropes held. Somperhaps people need to ask what are the strongest winds you have been in and where was it.
We had the pleasure of hosting ( for too short a time ) Frank and Vooma Ratnam who we met in Danga Bay Malaysia. The weather, mercifully, was kind to us for the forty eight hours they were in Wellington. We gave them a taste of Kiwi life and took them up to Andrew and Avrils house for a kiwi BBQ.....Mmmmmmm. The next day we got delayed enjoying TE PAPA, so there was only time for a quick ride on the cable car and then a car sprint to the ferry terminal.
Friday night saw CHARIOTEER full of girls.....the first 'sleepover' on CHARIOTEER for Tayla and Kendra and the excitement meant wide awake bouncing happy girls until late at night...but everyone slept well and the visit was a success.
Life in the tropical climes is so kind to the skin,..... my wedding and engagement rings were a tight fit, my face was smooth with just the hint of wrinkles, my sandals fit snuggly. but now that has changed. My rings slide all over the place, my sandals flop and my face...well perhaps this wee story will give you an idea of my face ....
Danielle ( aged 8 ).....Ma ( that's me) I want to design clothes.
Me.....well go ahead, design,what is stopping you.
D........I haven't got anyone to design for...
Me......there's your mum , nana and me
D......no I want to design for a teenager
Me....I could pretend to be a teenager.
Danielle looked at me, considering the offer. The she patted my hand and said.....
Ma you would have to dye your hair and wear heaps of makeup. :)
The honesty of kids....I just love it. :)
Today Andrew ran a half marathon......the number of people doing that and the 7k walk was amazing........at the finish line the supporters were out in force. We are so proud of our son....... Go Andrew, go.... :)
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Birthday delights
The sky was blue, the sun shone and the fish just begged to be caught. grand daughter Tayla caught two Blue Cod but would not have anything to do with them once they got within reach of the landing net. Tayla likes her fish with chips and tomato sauce....not jumping in a bucket with several others.
My birthday sail was a success. No one was seasick and we did some gentle sailing that all the grand daughters enjoyed......even though we could not grant the request to ' do donuts like daddy does'!!!! ( Daddy has a very fast Malibu waterski/ wakeboard boat.)
Summer has been here for three days........but today it moved somewhere else :(
Brian is still busy getting at the rust...but is winning the battle. I am riding my bike to town rather then using the car, and a bit of gentle weight lifting in the morning....got to keep the fitness up.
The kitchen refurbishments are going well. And after a discussion with the paint shop man and Brian I am painting the fence a warm pinky/ pumpkin colour. I did want to do it burnt orange but they talked me out of it... :( but at least it will not be the normal boring colour. :)
All is well in the land of the long white cloud.....marmite, fish and chips, pie and tomato sauce, milkshakes, cheese,beetroot, grand daughters hugs...... :). :)
Hope life is good for you
love and hugs
My birthday sail was a success. No one was seasick and we did some gentle sailing that all the grand daughters enjoyed......even though we could not grant the request to ' do donuts like daddy does'!!!! ( Daddy has a very fast Malibu waterski/ wakeboard boat.)
Summer has been here for three days........but today it moved somewhere else :(
Brian is still busy getting at the rust...but is winning the battle. I am riding my bike to town rather then using the car, and a bit of gentle weight lifting in the morning....got to keep the fitness up.
The kitchen refurbishments are going well. And after a discussion with the paint shop man and Brian I am painting the fence a warm pinky/ pumpkin colour. I did want to do it burnt orange but they talked me out of it... :( but at least it will not be the normal boring colour. :)
All is well in the land of the long white cloud.....marmite, fish and chips, pie and tomato sauce, milkshakes, cheese,beetroot, grand daughters hugs...... :). :)
Hope life is good for you
love and hugs
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Bye bye Facebook.....Hullo Blog
So instead of Facebook I shall occasionally do a type of diary letting the interested know what we are doing while tied to the marina.
We are surprised wwhen looking at the calendar to find we have only been back for one month....so much has happened...so many things done and people visited.
We celebrated Tayla and Kendras Fourth Birthday.......three times.....once on the actual day, a few days later we went out for dinner to celebrate the birthday and then a week later the official party...with small children guests and birthday cake.
We went on a long bike ride into the back blocks with the family, and another ride along the riverbank......we enjoyed catching up with special friends over a lovely BBQ meal and and we have busy doing renovations in our house in Wellington !!!! This is all in a good cause, it will help with the cruising kitty.
Brian has been busy attacking the surface rust inside CHARIOTEER which meant all cupboards and other elusive storage areas were emptied into the main cabin.....and CHARIOTEER smelt like a paint factory.
And then I asked if for my birthday on Sunday we could take the family for a day sail and a BBQ on the harbour....so things have been restored to storage areas and CHARIOTEER is all ready to set sail tomorrow morning.
I am hoping for calm, warm weather. Tayla and Kendra have never sailed before and we want them to enjoy the day...and it is very hard to hold a hot sausage when the boats on a lean :)
All of New Zealand is waiting for summer to arrive......but the sun is shy whereas the wind is not......oh well hugs with grand daughters kind of make up for it.
NEW ZEALAND...you just gotta love the clean air ...even if the wind cuts right through you :)
We are surprised wwhen looking at the calendar to find we have only been back for one month....so much has happened...so many things done and people visited.
We celebrated Tayla and Kendras Fourth Birthday.......three times.....once on the actual day, a few days later we went out for dinner to celebrate the birthday and then a week later the official party...with small children guests and birthday cake.
We went on a long bike ride into the back blocks with the family, and another ride along the riverbank......we enjoyed catching up with special friends over a lovely BBQ meal and and we have busy doing renovations in our house in Wellington !!!! This is all in a good cause, it will help with the cruising kitty.
Brian has been busy attacking the surface rust inside CHARIOTEER which meant all cupboards and other elusive storage areas were emptied into the main cabin.....and CHARIOTEER smelt like a paint factory.
And then I asked if for my birthday on Sunday we could take the family for a day sail and a BBQ on the harbour....so things have been restored to storage areas and CHARIOTEER is all ready to set sail tomorrow morning.
I am hoping for calm, warm weather. Tayla and Kendra have never sailed before and we want them to enjoy the day...and it is very hard to hold a hot sausage when the boats on a lean :)
All of New Zealand is waiting for summer to arrive......but the sun is shy whereas the wind is not......oh well hugs with grand daughters kind of make up for it.
NEW ZEALAND...you just gotta love the clean air ...even if the wind cuts right through you :)
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Home again
This is just a short item to let our followers know we wre home, safe and sound. You can find us back where we started from six years ago.
Pier D, No 10, Seaview Marina, Lower Hutt.
We shall post a blog about our trip from Port Victor later.
Pier D, No 10, Seaview Marina, Lower Hutt.
We shall post a blog about our trip from Port Victor later.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
The captains view on SOLO SAILING. :)
We all know about those intrepid sailors, mostly men...but occasionally women, many of whom circumnavigate the globe. This feat usually takes three to five years to complete. ( although we do know of one fellow ( yacht Sourdough) who completed his circuit this year after starting out 16 years and 8 months ago, his path wandered far and wide.)
But now do we have a new breed of solo sailors?? And this is my poser to set the mind ticking !!!!
The young man I fathered, who is also my wives son gave my crew member ( Carol) an IPad. For an avid reader this is great ......come bed time the lights go out and she reads on :(. But then this small pecs of equipment becomes a telephone for talking to NZ for almost no cost.....Even better....but wait....THERE'S MORE.....email and all that sort of invisible stuff fly into the IPad, somehow from somewhere ......
Next thing squeezed in is a GPS, which shows you where you are ...anytime, anywhere.......land or sea..day or night. A sweet electronic voice can tell you your speed, your average and how many thousand of hours you have been going.
Now on CHARIOTEER we have paper charts and electronic charts, so we are in touch with where we are....OH NO , now with the IPad we can add, at a small cost, Navionic charts...with a small icon showing our position , how far we have come, where we are going :)
Not good enough yet, you say ...... CORRECT.......as these charts can be over laid with Google Earth views. If Father Christmas has this aid he will be able to see right down your chimney :)
What a marvelous gizmo....NO NO ...we aren't finished yet...weather forecast six days ahead...anywhere in the world (Buoyweather)...you can find ships far enough away that you can not see them with the naked eye (ASIS)
Now where is this all lleading to.......I'm out there in the wind and cold tending sails, keeping a lookout....so I call to Carol...( all snuggly and warm in the pilot house) " a coffee would be good"...... The hasty reply..." can you do it...there is an email I want to answer , and I'll have one also" !!!!!!!!!
I ( Brian) am a new age solo sailor :)
The crew replies....ah yes but the captain does enjoy reading
www.stuff.co.nz or www.trade me.co.nz
and looking at the photos the family send, and the weather forecasts..........:) I just love being crew, who wants to go out into the cold to alter a sail........
But now do we have a new breed of solo sailors?? And this is my poser to set the mind ticking !!!!
The young man I fathered, who is also my wives son gave my crew member ( Carol) an IPad. For an avid reader this is great ......come bed time the lights go out and she reads on :(. But then this small pecs of equipment becomes a telephone for talking to NZ for almost no cost.....Even better....but wait....THERE'S MORE.....email and all that sort of invisible stuff fly into the IPad, somehow from somewhere ......
Next thing squeezed in is a GPS, which shows you where you are ...anytime, anywhere.......land or sea..day or night. A sweet electronic voice can tell you your speed, your average and how many thousand of hours you have been going.
Now on CHARIOTEER we have paper charts and electronic charts, so we are in touch with where we are....OH NO , now with the IPad we can add, at a small cost, Navionic charts...with a small icon showing our position , how far we have come, where we are going :)
Not good enough yet, you say ...... CORRECT.......as these charts can be over laid with Google Earth views. If Father Christmas has this aid he will be able to see right down your chimney :)
What a marvelous gizmo....NO NO ...we aren't finished yet...weather forecast six days ahead...anywhere in the world (Buoyweather)...you can find ships far enough away that you can not see them with the naked eye (ASIS)
Now where is this all lleading to.......I'm out there in the wind and cold tending sails, keeping a lookout....so I call to Carol...( all snuggly and warm in the pilot house) " a coffee would be good"...... The hasty reply..." can you do it...there is an email I want to answer , and I'll have one also" !!!!!!!!!
I ( Brian) am a new age solo sailor :)
The crew replies....ah yes but the captain does enjoy reading
www.stuff.co.nz or www.trade me.co.nz
and looking at the photos the family send, and the weather forecasts..........:) I just love being crew, who wants to go out into the cold to alter a sail........
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