And then there were three!
Bamboozle
Jamie and Lucy Telfer
Mon 15 Jun 2015 01:22
022:16.631S 166:26.419E We arrived back in New Zealand in May after three months back in Europe and the UK. Leaving the northern hemisphere spring behind we returned to a surprisingly chilly Auckland autumn and set about getting Bamboozle ready to head north towards the tropics as soon as possible. We spent the usual few weeks racing around, fixing those last minute niggly boat problems, loading piles of food supplies on board for the season and selecting fine beers wines and spirits for Bamboozle’s cellar. Lucy was recovering really well from her hip op back at the start of February but we remained a little bit nervous about just the two of us heading offshore with it. Fortunately our great friend Mark Tennant had a yearning to do an ocean passage and offered to come along and join us as crew for the 1000nm passage up to New Caledonia. He flew in to join us in Auckland at the start of June and just under a week later we got the weather forecast we were looking for to head off. We are always nervous about the trips up and down from NZ. It is a notoriously fickle piece of ocean and has a habit of producing very nasty surprises but we could not have asked for better weather or more comfortable trip. Having a third person to share the watches with meant a lot more time off watch (and sleep) and Mark was a quick to adapt to life on board and fitted smoothly in with an old married couple used to doing things there own way. He was a real pleasure to share the boat with and to have around.  Ready for the off! This was taken five minutes before we left for our passage to Noumea departing for the first time with more than just the two of us on board. There are very few people we would ask to do a passage with us and Mark was right at the top of a very short list. Another new addition to the Bamboozle featured in this picture is our fantastic new solar arch with dinghy davits and a deck mounting for our life-raft.  Happy boys! Our first morning in Noumea with an ice cold beer and some not very impressive facial hair. For some silly reason (Greg!) we decided to try to grow beards on passage but mine seemed to come out grey, straggly and rather itchy. Mark’s plan to keep growing his until he flew home to surprise Genevieve and the girls was also proved a very short lived idea as you can see from the next picture.  Washed, shaved and all dressed up for the PPP (Post Passage Piss-up!). Champagne and “Bula Shirts” to celebrate our arrival in the tropics |