|f anyone is out there I am back on the boat in Auckland. Sorry for
the prolonged radio silence. The boat has had a major refit,
including a new paint job and and new cabin sole as the original was
made of a very thin veneer which has suffered, as well as an upgrade
of the electronics and other creature comforts.
I have cleverly gone from the English winter to the onset of the New
Zealand winter, having managed to completely miss the Kiwi summer.
Very good planning.
We are currently loading up a new computer with all the boat stuff
and should have it all finished in a couple of days. We still haven't
tested the new sails properly and hope to do so in a few days. The
weather here is cold and squallly so the sooner we leave the better.
I've returned au bateau a bit later than originally planned as Demetra
and I decided to "freshen up" the house and have been living with
builders since November apart from the two months we had to move
out. Anyway we're very pleased with the results.
We are hoping to return to Papeete where the family can easily join
the boat, but it may be too late in the season. The trip entails
going due East from Auckland until "under" the Australs and then
hanging a left or should say a "port." If it looks like were going
to get too beat up in the Southern Ocean we will opt for a more
Northerly destination.
The plan is to do a big anti clockwise circle in the Pacific hopefilly
reaching the Solomen Islands and then working our way back towards
Brisbane or Auckland before Christmas.. Given the current pirate
situation in the Indian Ocean we have decided to ship the boat to to
Florida next January/February arriving sometime in March 2010. We will
be back in Greece later next Summer.
The diary will return in earnest when we leave.
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