036:47.117S 175:27.405E

 

Well, our break from Bamboozle ended up being quite a lot longer than we had

planned!  An unfortunate contretemps with a large block of ice while on skis

in January resulted in a complete rupture of my Achilles tendon followed by surgery and 12 weeks

on crutches.  Bourg St Maurice Hospital did a wonderful job of

re-attaching it but I received some very specific instructions from a number

of Doctors and Physiotherapists not to go and jump straight back on a boat and

particularly not to even consider heading back out across an ocean until it

was completely healed......at least six months.  So instead of heading back

to NZ we spent the summer in the northern hemisphere enjoying more time with

family and friends and a great trip over to the US.

 

If we had known how long we were going to be away for we probably would not

have left Bamboozle in the water and it was with some trepidation that we

returned to her at the start of October.  We need not have worried....she

had been well looked after in our absence and we unlocked her to find she

was in really good condition, as dry and fresh as the day we left her ten

months before. We spent about two weeks aboard her in Gulf Harbour sorting

things out and checking everything was working and then headed out into the

Hauraki Gulf, a beautiful cruising ground right on the doorstep.  We had had

the standing rigging replaced over the winter while we were away and we also

finally took delivery of a new suit of Hydra-Net Radial sails which we had

originally ordered back in December last year.

 

It is spring here and the weather could fairly be described as "changeable"!  We have had some glorious spring days interspersed with wet and windy ones and it is good to be in a part of the world where there are snug anchorages with protection from every kind of wind direction and force.  Apart from the recent Labour Day Weekend not many Kiwis are yet venturing out so it feels as if we have the place to ourselves.  The rigging looks great and the new sails are a massive step up from the tired stretched baggy dacron ones they have replaced and should provide a good boost to performance as well as end the frustration of trying to properly trim sails that have long since lost their shape.

 

Our delay in returning to the boat has also put us out of sync with the seasons in the tropics and with the South Pacific cyclone season starting in November we have decided to spend a few months cruising in New Zealand before our normal winter trip back to the mountains in mid January.  If all goes to plan we will return to Bamboozle in April and then finally head off a little further west.....just how far west is yet to be confirmed!

 

 

finished her nursing duties!