25^th April 2008 - Auckland.

 

Lamentably Splash Tango lies alongside her own marina berth at Orakei Marina, Auckland. The weather has taken a turn in the last two weeks letting us know that summer cruising in these waters is gone for another season. If she was capable of thought, which sometimes I am convinced she is, I am sure she would be wondering why I have not been making the usual pre passage preparations, additions repairs servicing etc, as there is no doubt that the next few weeks would be the time to be heading off for warmer climes.

 

Not to be this year though, we will have to endure the winter here. On the plus side however I have finally made arrangements to replace the teak decks starting next month (May). We are due to come out of the water, remove the rig and tuck into a cosy shed up at West Park Marina next month. The boatbuilder there is happy for me to work with them on the project which should help financially. Given good luck and all going according to plan (which of course it never does) we should be back in the water with brand new water tight decks, in 2 months time! (watch this space!)

 

We were lucky with the summer this year (although the farmers wouldn’t agree) and had some beautiful sailing weather. Robbie took the whole of January off work and we threw the dock lines off and headed north the week before Christmas Katrina joined us for the passage north along with Mat (her boyfriend) and a couple of their friends. The sail was a cold one but we had the wind from the south and it uncharacteristically held all night so we made good time leaving the marina in Auckland at 1630hrs and rounding Cape Brett, entering the Bay of Islands, at 0600hrs next morning. Dropped anchor in Waiwaitoria passage at 0700 at the start of a beautiful “Bay day”.

 

The kids jumped ship next day and caught the bus back to Auckland leaving Robbie and me to rattle around and enjoy the peace and quiet and relative pre-Christmas solitude of the “Bay” (Bay of Islands) on our own.

 

Cousin Roly and Consie Lennox-King were in Residence in their place at Parekura Bay having left their boat Restless (see their web diary) in Scotland for the season. It was great to catch up with them and hear the news of their transatlantic passage and all their families “comings and goings”. We borrowed Roly’s car and drove to (sister) Flick and Dons farm to spend Christmas day with them and their family.

 

Dolphins in the bay at Roberton Island

 

 

Other than that, and without going in to a day by day account of the Christmas cruise, we had a great time enjoying the “Bay”. I had bought a new wetsuit before Christmas (they keep shrinking on me!) and had some of the best diving I have had in the Bay for years. Crayfish were as plentiful as I have seen them ( or am I getting more cunning) and the Scallops were good too, until an algae bloom closed the gathering of them for a week or two.

 

Our friends the Simon and Edwina Ellis joined us for a week at New Years before they took up the rental of a batch in Parekura Bay.

 

Tim and Glenny Wiles arrived up on their new Genesis 44 “Bounty”, Grant Cashmore was about on the classic old family launch “Haunui”.

 

With a number of other friends and acquaintances about there was no shortage of company for beach BBQs, diving, fishing, and generally rafting up enjoying a glass of wine and some well told lies!

 

Bounty alongside. Glenny Wiles, Cathy, Grant Cashmore, Time Wiles, Simon Ellis.

 

 

One afternoon, when we had already gathered from “the deep” a haul of scallops on one dive and several Crayfish on another, the girls (Robbie and Edwina) sent Simon and I out in the inflatable on a mission to catch some schnapper. (Hard to please these women sometimes – I think they must be spoilt!)  Sure enough, they hadn’t even had time to consume their first glass of Sauvignon Blanc when we were back with the one photo’d below – well how many do we need?!

 

Simon with a nice Bay of Islands Schnapper.

 

Flick and Don Jack (Sister and Brother-in-law) joined us for a few days as well. Their place in Parekura Bay has sold and settlement date for the new one is not until February, so it was good to have the opportunity to have them aboard. They haven’t had a cruise with us since Fiji the year before last and it’s always a pleasure to have them with us. Don as usual, was keen to get as much dive time in as possible and we did well at some of our old spots. The schnapper fishing was starting to go a bit quiet about this time but their was plenty of the sea’s bounty to make up for it, and not to mention fun to be had.

 

Don with a couple of nice crays for entrée.

 

Beach BBQ  - Waiwaitoria Passage

 

 All in a day’s fun.

 

Edwina, Flick, Greer and Glenny, at the beach Waiwaitoria.

 

In short it was another Christmas Cruise to be remembered. Great weather great company.

Sunset drinks ashore.

 

We bought a Burmese kitten just before Christmas. Katrina was desperate to get a cat ( to go with the Labrador of course).

 

 

Ship’s cat “Whisky” thinks the sunglasses would be better down the companionway.

 

Robbie’s Brother Chris, and family Ruth, Olivia and Amara joined us for a few days as well. Unlike last year, the weather held for us and we had some good beach time as well as some good sailing time, (something Chris would have been very disappointed not to have had).

 

All too soon as always though, the end of January came and it was time to get the old girl back to the “big smoke”. Simon Ellis gave me a hand with the sail down the coast. We did it in two hopes arriving in Kawau at 0100hrs after leaving the bay with no wind, at 0900hrs the previous day. Robbie made the arduous trip back by car with the female Ellis contingent.

 

 

Amara Labb at the helm.

 

 

 

Robbie at the (soon to be re- leathered) helm

 

Robbie and I have had some great weekends out on Splash Tango this year. With the Indian Summer we’ve had it has been great to get away. You don’t have to go far to enjoy it and most times we’ve just headed down to “the bottom end” of  Waiheke Island, met up with folk we knew sometimes, and enjoyed our own company others. We are going to replace the teak decks this winter so the next dissertation will be concerning the trials thereof. Ciao. P.