The Last Leg
Zepher
Chris & Lyn Darch
Sat 18 Apr 2009 06:04
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Hi Folks,
Sorry its been over a week but we have been hard at
the rubbing down and painting, we have completed the three coats of anti foul,
the first coat of awgrip to the port side and the stern, it looked the mutts
nuts, lots of admirers but they got a bit confused when we knocked it down again
for the second coat, it was gleaming but the head painter ( Capt Fluffy ) wants
to build up the coat layers ... .... lots of confused yachies wondering
why we sanded off the glass finish . .anyway she has been explaining to the
masses why, also it seems girl power has had a boost, its a bit of a male domain
the painting thing here so Lyn's put the cat amongst the pidgons, plus the spray
shop down in the yard are also having to up there standards !
I have completed the galley's new overboard dump
system , and nearly completed the sea chest rebuild, the steering box
still has not been returned so I will be chasing that next week, now the Easter
break is over.
As May approaches a lot of the guys we have sailed
across the Pacific are gathering to get ready to set off North to Tonga , Fiji ,
and Vanuatu for the seasons cruising, some are returning here for another
summer, but the majority are making tracks towards the Read sea , or Thieland ,
a lot are shortening there trips by heading back to Europe by next July as quite
a few of the mainland European yachies are on there two / three year sabbaticals
and need to be back at there jobs, many are concerned by the current economic
situation so its spurring a few on to return quicker that they would
have.
It will be sad to see them go as it will be
the closing a chapter on the band of people we have bumped into on our trip
across the pacific , there is a much closer bond between the Pacific cruisers
than we found in the Caribbean, the Atlantic seems such a small ocean compared
with the Pacific , which is vast and has much to offer.
The next few weeks will be a bit hectic with the
good byes and hangovers I think, anyway we have a lot of lasting memories to
savour for the rest of our lives, the cruising now will be short distances,
Tonga's only One Thousand miles to the north and then its only five hundred
miles between most of the Island groups.
We on the otherhand will be completing the outer
refurbish and then putting Zephyr back in the water and heading off back to
Wellington to get on with the next project , the flats re-model.
Just a quick one folks , if you still read the blog
please could you send an em just to let us know if we still have a readership
..
Still on the hard . ..
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