Waiting in Whangarei

Where Next?
Bob Williams
Sat 27 Mar 2021 02:56
At anchor Hatea River, Whangarei
Wind: NE, F4   Sea: calm   Swell: nil
Weather: overcast, mild

We sit at anchor in Hatea River, Whangarei doing a bit of maintenance, enjoying some time with Kate, and waiting for some items to be shipped in, including a new pair of seaboots.

Just over a year ago, I bought my first pair of Dubarry seaboots as a Christmas present to myself, in the expectation of having warm, dry, and comfortable feet at sea in rough weather. I had been desiring a pair of these brand name, and expensive, boots for many years now but have been reluctant to spend the money when my old rubber boots do an excellent job of keeping my feet dry, if not exactly warm and comfortable. For most of the last twelve months the new boots have been sitting in storage being of little use during Sylph’s refit. A couple of months ago I put on my hardly worn Dubarry’s to bail out some rainwater that had collected in the dinghy. I was extremely disappointed to find that after a minute of standing in the pool of water in the bottom of the dinghy that my right foot was saturated.  Later, on another occasion, I found that both boots leaked. Naturally, I have followed the problem up with the store that I bought them from and I am pleased to say that the Dubarry’s agent in Australia is organising a replacement pair for me which should arrive in the next couple of weeks. Hopefully, this replacement pair will live up to Dubarry’s excellent reputation and I will have no cause for complaint.

So here we sit, waiting. Once the boots and two other more mundane but important items arrive, we will be free to move on again. At this stage I will most likely head back to Australia to catch up with family and to prepare Sylph for her next adventure.

All is well.