| WELCOME TO ATTITUDE Neil & Kathy's Sailing Adventures |
DEC 2010-JUNE 2011
U.S/Canada Trip & New Zealand North Island ONLY (this yr.)
Dec-2010
U.S. tour went great! A long 14 hr. flight from Auckland to L.A then off to Ga., my 1st stop.
All good with mom, sister and her family plus my Niece and family & brother surprised me and drove up from Fl. for a visit. Next
stop Ft Lauderdale did a bit of Xmas shopping and hung out with daughter Michelle and Jarrid (13) checked out her new house
& even saw the boat parade. Off to Cincinnati, Neil came in a day later. Neil, Christine (daughter) and Cari (daughter) did a 5k
run in the snow! The hubbys and I dragged a 3, 2&1 yr. old out to watch with big signs of course.
Met my new grandson Kase (2mo) in the flesh (you ask vs. what?) Much more fun than skype, which had been great but nothing
like holding the little guy. Lucky enough to get all kids and grands in same state, same city and same house one day so the camera
was OUT and I was a snapping.
Christmas was awesome always fun when some are waiting for Santa!! Well someone else besides me! Snuck in a sister trip to
the Dominican Republic for a weekend and then off Neil and I went to Whistler B.C Canada for our month of slope time. Our
friends Rich and Jan on Slip Away joined us for a week on the mt. although a bit strange to see Rich & Jan in snow gear vs.
bathing suits. Family came the next week so we had a loud (11 of us), messy but fantastic time with lots of toys, food and kids on
the floors! Ella 3 loved ski school again this yr. and Jarrid did grace us with his presence a few days, we don’t like going through
the trees like he does.
New Zealand North Island Wangarei Feb 2011
Made it back w/o any issues, even with ALL our heavy bags. Bert (from Boree) was waiting and back to Attitude we went. Ingi
(Boree) had a great breakfast all prepared we even had Champagne--now that’s a friend.
Work begins asap… Neil installed a new Vhf radio, one thing checked off.
The town of Whangarei is about 2 mi from the marina so we bought used bikes for our mode of transportation. I did have my 1st
bike accident EVER, leaving the gym here I saw a green light to cross so I was trying to hurry up and ran straight into a cement
block, flew over the handle bars and all! Good thing you have to wear helmets here. BTW mine is a nice flashy red one given to
me by Ingi on Boree. Town has all the shops you would need, and Neil has been to all he even found farmers shops that had a
particular hose size we needed. One of my favorite is a container shop, to keep organized!
Many other cruisers here, most have cars since they have or plan to explore the N & S Islands. So road trip with Seamist and
Imagine sounded good to us. 1st stop Waipu Caves climbing in the mud crouched over looking for glow worms which seemed to
be formed in a constellation pretty cool! Next stop, PINK SHEEP, at Sheep World, yea I know very very touristy but Seamist
had a guest, Stephanie, who really wanted to see them. Well it was closed so we “missed” the big show darn but did see the
Pink Sheep and NO I have no idea why they are pink.
Old Friends: 2005 Providencia (Colombian Is) we met Deyal & Dilys on S/V Rarangi they were heading home to New Zealand.
“Someday we will get there we said” So when we did make it here I shot an e off hoping it was still a good address AND they
were here in Whangarei AWESOME! D &D have “swallowed the hook” but have been fun to swap stories with. Even offered a
nice warm fire and chicken soup lunch when it got cold out. OK Back to wk. Our mast has been pulled to be stripped
sandblasted & painted and I sure don’t want rusty fittings so Brian, was kind enough to drag over a HUGE container full of parts.
3 day, no fingernails and some grimy hands all fittings are shiny!
Work = $ Chain looking a bit rusty now so had that sent in to galvanize, more shiny stuff YEA. Our poor dinghy has so many
patches it looks like it is made out of a quilt; well don’t have to worry about anyone stealing it! Northland Inflatables examined her
inside and out so she is still good for a few yrs. and still as pretty HA.
Although the look is chic the baggie on our dodger taped on with duct tape had to go. We found Neil (Doyle sails) & had all the
strata replaced, Neil as in Farley is thrilled he can now see out of the front—it’s crystal clear! We also had new cushions made for
cockpit and some canvas wk. done. Ronnie (undercover Canvas) made us a few hatch covers, fender covers, ya know with new
paint we want to look good, panels for our cockpit switches and we even covered out dinghy gas can. Yes pretty fancy. Plus we
now have beautiful navy dock lines to match Attitude; although I did not want to use them here the water is dirty!
Another day out: A brisk 15 min walk and you enter Parihaka Park beautiful trails in the woods and along the Hate River.We
choose the Drummond trail going up and up leading to Veterans of Whangarei monument and on to Pukenui falls. We loved going
through this park and into AH Reed Park to Whangarei falls .Hiking every few days seemed to help the “stress” level of boat wk
Cruiser highlite: Ok so if you live on a boat you have way more ”junk” then you need so Whangarei I guess knows us boaters and
ea. year 30 plus cruisers drag out whatever they can find in their bilges and stick a price tag on it! Well we took 5 things and came
back with only 1 and it was a sweater I bought for 50cents so we did pretty good. It is fun to see lots of people you have not
seen for a bit & find out where everyone is and where they are going.
FEB 22 The madness begins THE HAUL OUT, poor old ugly Attitude is ready for her face lift.Ok now Attitude is on the hard in
the shed, so no water& toilet plus tons of workers so we need to move out! Marina Court motel is literally next to the marina so
we move in, for a mo. (we thought) Well we did have a tv and nice shower so we were happy. EA morning early we walk over to
see when we will sand and paint the hull. Hmmm one guys says it looks like there is a dip under your davits( huge metal structures
to lift our dinghy),Fraser(RBW) came along with his hammer and did the “hammer test” to see if it sounded like the core had been
compromised. SO off the davits have to come in order to cut, clean out and replace the core and fiberglass! Now Attitude is put
into a huge shed to paint so Neil somehow, still is not telling me, threw lines to the ceiling and hoisted the davits.. All AFTER
taking wind gen off, disconnecting wind gen pole, dinghy engine lift, stainless trim and finally unbolting davits at the base. Let’s
make sure there are no other places that water may have gotten into core. The thermal imaging camera is brought out, very cool,
EXCEPT there are a few places port and Sb near our windows in the main salon DARN! Guess what we need to get in there,
from outside? or inside?. We all talk it over and decide to tear out from the inside YIKES
Time for another hike, off we go down the rd. up the hill beautiful country side lots of sheep and a bit of sun. We walk and walk
but see signs for Abbey Caves cool. You just climb a fence into fields of lg. boulders and sure enough there they are. Well since
we were just going for a “short”walk we had no flashlight! Still impressive, ok 2hrs up lets head back we are hungry and no water
(ya know short walk). Awe peaches growing alongside of the rd., nice! We also find some black berries in a ditch along the rd.
Boy cruisers can live off the land for sure LOL. 15 miles later we make it back and can now deal again with Attitude!
MARCH Enters Steve our adopted worker/son! Steve loves to wk. and will do anything. Music to Neil’s ears, gives us time to
do other “jobs” We put Steve on scraping and painting all lockers, even had him in our bilge pump compartment cleaning it to
paint ,digging a 4ft deep hole in hard soil so we can drop our rudder. Oh yea we had a sm rudder leak so we pulled the rudder,
weeks later 2 men scratching their heads and more $$$ later all is well. We also discovered Steve was a precision taper and
caulker. ha who knew he was a hairdresser as well!
Time’s up in the hotel BUT we cannot move onboard. Steve to the rescue he was house sitting and invited us to stay up there with
him, since he was working on Attitude ea. day there was no transportation issue! Great we had a 5 day get away beautiful view,
pet goat and Kakariki parrots flying by .After that the motel had another opening, room 2
So today we have a guy working on engine, carpenter tearing out sb & p walls in main salon, an electrician working on putting in a
240 transformer in ( we will be in 240 land for a long time now) Guys working on the rudder, Steve, Neil and I .. It’s getting very
crowded! And stressful! I’m trying to stay stress free HA, by going to gym doing water aerobics or doing yoga, bands or pilates
ea. day. Thank Goodness Mary (Kismet) was having a big 60 party we needed the fun. From what I remember it was fun HA!
Plus we did go to TopSail, really nice rest with Steve & Vicky from True Companions so it’s not all wk.
Neil was on aft sump, it decided to stop working & while Nick was on break Neil would tear out more, pound and cut in the
main salon or wk. on replacing insulation in the engine room I replaced mirrors in my head, cleaned & sanded bottoms of all the
stanchions since we took them off to reset.
Moving again this is our 3rd room at the motel we seem to misjudge our time needed wishful thinking I guess! Still it’s fun to hear
the girls (2 geese) honk at you every time you walk by
Some fun: Went with Ingi and Bert on Boree to Collaboration NZ2001 art auction at the Forum North Very cool unique “art”. All
the $$ is put back into the community and to the artist! Off we went from there to Marsden Cove marina where a sm. Boat show
was going on. Now Neil has been harassing all shops that sell kayaks in Whangarei for months. He goes in has them all taken
down off racks, sits in them gets the specs and says he is thinking. Also on line looking at trademe a site with used things. Neil’s
pal John from kayak zone is at the show and tells him to try one in the water. Well he tries the one he liked and hated it. So he
tries another his pal recommends not one he would have picked due to the way it looked. But WE have a Winner! Neil now has
his kayak
APRIL Looked like our May 5th date on our visa was not going to wk. I go online copied forms copied some finance info (NZ
wants to make sure you can support yourself) copied some passport pgs., and send it off to Auckland. Very quickly we were
given another 3 months! “OH PLEASE DON’T LET IT BE THAT LONG”, I said.
And we move again room # 4. At this point Anne and Ove the owners asked us if we weren’t really hotel inspectors!
Woa Hoo Painting begins, 1st primer coat goes on Attitude. April 7. But still a million workers on board and fiberglass dust ALL
over inside and out I try hard to ignore it for now!
Still needing a stress releaser I went to a Zumba class with Brian & Jodon from El Regalo. Well, all I can say is it was sweaty and
I’m sure great amusement for the instructor!
Northland Inflatable is tired of storing our dinghy (it’s been months) so they dump it off and we store it by the shed. It’s a pit so I
take my handy screw driver and clean all the little groves in the nonskid.
Culture & Fun???? New Zealand’ Maori Hakas war dance, the haka, was composed by the Maori tribe Ngati Toa's warrior
chief Te Rauparaha in the early 19th century to celebrate the fiery warrior's escape from death in battle. At the end of the
“season” Whangarei Marine Promotions had a nice dinner and goodbye party for all the cruisers. One of the troops performed for
us. It’s an amazing dance to watch! Lots of eyes open wide, tongues sticking out & hands shaking. Some of the women still have
the traditional “beard “ tattoo , which meant they were a responsible women and important to the society.
Off for a short (that word again) bike ride. We are heading to the Aussie butcher to check it out. NOW I did not get directions N
did. Through town we go, let me tell you riding a bike in traffic, traffic that is driving on the wrong side of the road is NOT fun and
the roundabout YIKES. After uphill downhill MANY times, I’m scream’in N this cannot be right finally he stops and goes hum
maybe you’re right we turn around, ya know up & down again, BUT wait we see Longview Estate winery. Ok a taste of port and
a rest I’m fine still hating the bike trip on the highway with the trucks though. We do find the Aussie Butcher 2 miles back we
should have done a r not a l turn!
Blue coat #1 on April 15th she sure looks purdy! But a few days later we (Gavin the painter) all decided she needed another blue
coat. Meaning buy more paint $$$$
People are getting anxious to head for Fiji. Marsha, Tracen J., Was kind enough to sit with a few of us so we could pick her
brain. Lots of good info and some charts I had printed up.
2 hr hike up to Whangarei falls it had been raining so it looked great we even saw a TUI with is white Waddle
The exodus begins; Dignity had a big party the night before he left, fun everyone getting ready. True companions went up to Opua
but let us use his car for a day ½. OH boy! Off we went to buy cases of soda, beer, wine & rum all of which is soooo much
easier to get with a car vs. on a bike! The kid at the liquor store was so impressed he ran out to the car and gave us 2 hats, 2 t-
shirts and a float. The fun was climbing the 7ft ladder to put all this stuff on Attitude. The place is still a pit so we stuck it all in the
cockpit until I can get into any of the lockers!
Tourist time Next a.m. we went off to play tourist a bit and hit the Kiwi museum. A bit of a disappointment, you walk into a quiet
dark room; stare into a big glass enclosure where the Kiwi sleeps in their little houses. Ok well we did see the butt of one in the
monitor once we left. The only pic I got was the stuffed one on the front counter .Oh well if the 20 bucks does go to protect the
little guys I’m ok with it
Nothing we can really do on Attitude for a few days so we rented a car to see a few more sites close to Whangarei. 1st stop
Kauri Museum in Matakohe, to learn about the huge millenia old Kauri tree, see how they used the wood and gum (sap) .The sap
looks like amber. Headed for Waipoua Kauri Forest where Tane Mahuta (Maori forest god) the largest Kauri alive has been for
2,000 years! Pretty impressive at 167ft high and 57ft around. The drive was beautiful we could see the sea at one pt. so took a
detour at Maunganui Bluff, Gorgeous beach with a nice bluff and kelp all over. I have to say one of my highlights was Dargaville
which holds the claim to fame of the Kumara (sweet potatoes) capitol of New Zealand. I made Neil go out of the way by 6mi so
we could take a pic with a big paper mache Kumara .Come on we were playing tourist that day!
Next day Zion Wildlife Preserve, a place for rescue cats they have 37! White tigers, cheetahs, lion cubs, and adults. They even
have the Lion who was used to make the lion in Narnia. All the cats looked healthy and beautiful but it was sad, that place is the
end of the line for them! One female is in an enclosure with a male and she won’t mate with him. BUT she carries on a
conversation with a lion in another enclosure and we were told those 2 cannot mate. What a bummer you are held captive and
can’t even choose your partner!
MAY
Fiberglass and ripping out all done inside so while Brian is in the process of putting walls back together I start the clean up!
EVERY locker has to be emptied & everything in it wiped down. Plus walls, lights, fans, floors.. Tiney tiny fiberglass dust on the
entire boat!
While I’m cleaning N has decided he could be a bike messenger. Ea. day he goes out and runs from store to store LOADING his
backpack with provisions, even cases of beer. Although I did hear he got off his bike one day and fell backward because his
pack was so heavy (DARN I MISSED IT)
It may be May but it’s COLD now in New Zealand, so cold N came home with nice fuzzy slippers for me. I love them but
somehow doesn’t seem right on a boat Ok so bathing suits don’t work here off we go to the resale shop. Fleece blanket, 2
heavy fleece coats, flannel pants, wk. pants for N, hats (I’m talking Heidi hat), all for 24 bucks, Made our day.
All engine wk. done (and it works) but rain is delaying our final paint job! So changed switches on reading light, new latches on
refrigerators, new seal on some of the outside lockers, had to clean and fix switches on our windlass, & put new drain hoses on
lockers
27th ALMOST there! Should be going in water BUT too windy to move the tent to take us out AND a piece of stainless on
transom does NOT fit right. 28th bye bye hotel, We moved back on to Attitude, but still sitting in the shed and cold, it was only
60 degrees, Thanks to Ann from the Marina Court hotel we stayed warm, she ordered us a nice down comforter! AGAIN love it
but does not seem right on a boat.
So almost back to normal (?) and I twist my foot leaving hotel with a pile of stuff. X-ray nothing broken but torn ligaments and
tendons an irritation but I can walk as long as I keep my foot flat! The worst was getting up the ladder while we were still on the
hard.
Ok so 3 plus months of work, living in a room and now I hurt my foot, stuck on a boat on the hard ,can’t get up and down the
ladder AND can’t drink my sorrows away!!! Cuz then I’ll have to pee at night and I can’t get down the dumb ladder in the day
very well let alone at night
Well I had a nice 20 min pity party then all was fine
SPLASH 5-30-11
Attitude looks beautiful, finally in the water. Engine, Generator, chart plotter refrigerator, wind gen, solar panel & toilets work,
Yippe now all we need is Scott, electrician to finish up putting in a transformer so we can have 240 on Attitude and a mast! Neil
cooked up some wings and we bought some beer, invited all our “guys” to the b-b-q area to celebrate & thank them for all their
hard wk. Sunny day N loaded up all gerry cans in a cart and pushed it through the parking lot pass hotel cross the street to the
gas station filling our diesel tanks, cans and our gas cans. Ha only 3 trips, hey it’s all exercise right.
JUNE 8TH THE STICK GOES IN! Beautiful day no wind we cruise down the river to Dockland V to step our mast. Beth and
Ken from Eagles Wings came with us, since I’m not in jumping mode yet. All went well and Brian came over that afternoon to do
the rigging, & changing the angle of the boom vang. Sails and sail cover back on, dinghy pulled up, dinghy engine working, Neil’s
new kayak delivered, stainless all polished ,decks scrubbed . NOW where is our weather window??????
June 18 hanging in Marsden Cove hoping to lv SOON….
Next Story: WARM Fiji Fun
U.S/Canada Trip & New Zealand North Island ONLY (this yr.)
Dec-2010
U.S. tour went great! A long 14 hr. flight from Auckland to L.A then off to Ga., my 1st stop.
All good with mom, sister and her family plus my Niece and family & brother surprised me and drove up from Fl. for a visit. Next
stop Ft Lauderdale did a bit of Xmas shopping and hung out with daughter Michelle and Jarrid (13) checked out her new house
& even saw the boat parade. Off to Cincinnati, Neil came in a day later. Neil, Christine (daughter) and Cari (daughter) did a 5k
run in the snow! The hubbys and I dragged a 3, 2&1 yr. old out to watch with big signs of course.
Met my new grandson Kase (2mo) in the flesh (you ask vs. what?) Much more fun than skype, which had been great but nothing
like holding the little guy. Lucky enough to get all kids and grands in same state, same city and same house one day so the camera
was OUT and I was a snapping.
Christmas was awesome always fun when some are waiting for Santa!! Well someone else besides me! Snuck in a sister trip to
the Dominican Republic for a weekend and then off Neil and I went to Whistler B.C Canada for our month of slope time. Our
friends Rich and Jan on Slip Away joined us for a week on the mt. although a bit strange to see Rich & Jan in snow gear vs.
bathing suits. Family came the next week so we had a loud (11 of us), messy but fantastic time with lots of toys, food and kids on
the floors! Ella 3 loved ski school again this yr. and Jarrid did grace us with his presence a few days, we don’t like going through
the trees like he does.
New Zealand North Island Wangarei Feb 2011
Made it back w/o any issues, even with ALL our heavy bags. Bert (from Boree) was waiting and back to Attitude we went. Ingi
(Boree) had a great breakfast all prepared we even had Champagne--now that’s a friend.
Work begins asap… Neil installed a new Vhf radio, one thing checked off.
The town of Whangarei is about 2 mi from the marina so we bought used bikes for our mode of transportation. I did have my 1st
bike accident EVER, leaving the gym here I saw a green light to cross so I was trying to hurry up and ran straight into a cement
block, flew over the handle bars and all! Good thing you have to wear helmets here. BTW mine is a nice flashy red one given to
me by Ingi on Boree. Town has all the shops you would need, and Neil has been to all he even found farmers shops that had a
particular hose size we needed. One of my favorite is a container shop, to keep organized!
Many other cruisers here, most have cars since they have or plan to explore the N & S Islands. So road trip with Seamist and
Imagine sounded good to us. 1st stop Waipu Caves climbing in the mud crouched over looking for glow worms which seemed to
be formed in a constellation pretty cool! Next stop, PINK SHEEP, at Sheep World, yea I know very very touristy but Seamist
had a guest, Stephanie, who really wanted to see them. Well it was closed so we “missed” the big show darn but did see the
Pink Sheep and NO I have no idea why they are pink.
Old Friends: 2005 Providencia (Colombian Is) we met Deyal & Dilys on S/V Rarangi they were heading home to New Zealand.
“Someday we will get there we said” So when we did make it here I shot an e off hoping it was still a good address AND they
were here in Whangarei AWESOME! D &D have “swallowed the hook” but have been fun to swap stories with. Even offered a
nice warm fire and chicken soup lunch when it got cold out. OK Back to wk. Our mast has been pulled to be stripped
sandblasted & painted and I sure don’t want rusty fittings so Brian, was kind enough to drag over a HUGE container full of parts.
3 day, no fingernails and some grimy hands all fittings are shiny!
Work = $ Chain looking a bit rusty now so had that sent in to galvanize, more shiny stuff YEA. Our poor dinghy has so many
patches it looks like it is made out of a quilt; well don’t have to worry about anyone stealing it! Northland Inflatables examined her
inside and out so she is still good for a few yrs. and still as pretty HA.
Although the look is chic the baggie on our dodger taped on with duct tape had to go. We found Neil (Doyle sails) & had all the
strata replaced, Neil as in Farley is thrilled he can now see out of the front—it’s crystal clear! We also had new cushions made for
cockpit and some canvas wk. done. Ronnie (undercover Canvas) made us a few hatch covers, fender covers, ya know with new
paint we want to look good, panels for our cockpit switches and we even covered out dinghy gas can. Yes pretty fancy. Plus we
now have beautiful navy dock lines to match Attitude; although I did not want to use them here the water is dirty!
Another day out: A brisk 15 min walk and you enter Parihaka Park beautiful trails in the woods and along the Hate River.We
choose the Drummond trail going up and up leading to Veterans of Whangarei monument and on to Pukenui falls. We loved going
through this park and into AH Reed Park to Whangarei falls .Hiking every few days seemed to help the “stress” level of boat wk
Cruiser highlite: Ok so if you live on a boat you have way more ”junk” then you need so Whangarei I guess knows us boaters and
ea. year 30 plus cruisers drag out whatever they can find in their bilges and stick a price tag on it! Well we took 5 things and came
back with only 1 and it was a sweater I bought for 50cents so we did pretty good. It is fun to see lots of people you have not
seen for a bit & find out where everyone is and where they are going.
FEB 22 The madness begins THE HAUL OUT, poor old ugly Attitude is ready for her face lift.Ok now Attitude is on the hard in
the shed, so no water& toilet plus tons of workers so we need to move out! Marina Court motel is literally next to the marina so
we move in, for a mo. (we thought) Well we did have a tv and nice shower so we were happy. EA morning early we walk over to
see when we will sand and paint the hull. Hmmm one guys says it looks like there is a dip under your davits( huge metal structures
to lift our dinghy),Fraser(RBW) came along with his hammer and did the “hammer test” to see if it sounded like the core had been
compromised. SO off the davits have to come in order to cut, clean out and replace the core and fiberglass! Now Attitude is put
into a huge shed to paint so Neil somehow, still is not telling me, threw lines to the ceiling and hoisted the davits.. All AFTER
taking wind gen off, disconnecting wind gen pole, dinghy engine lift, stainless trim and finally unbolting davits at the base. Let’s
make sure there are no other places that water may have gotten into core. The thermal imaging camera is brought out, very cool,
EXCEPT there are a few places port and Sb near our windows in the main salon DARN! Guess what we need to get in there,
from outside? or inside?. We all talk it over and decide to tear out from the inside YIKES
Time for another hike, off we go down the rd. up the hill beautiful country side lots of sheep and a bit of sun. We walk and walk
but see signs for Abbey Caves cool. You just climb a fence into fields of lg. boulders and sure enough there they are. Well since
we were just going for a “short”walk we had no flashlight! Still impressive, ok 2hrs up lets head back we are hungry and no water
(ya know short walk). Awe peaches growing alongside of the rd., nice! We also find some black berries in a ditch along the rd.
Boy cruisers can live off the land for sure LOL. 15 miles later we make it back and can now deal again with Attitude!
MARCH Enters Steve our adopted worker/son! Steve loves to wk. and will do anything. Music to Neil’s ears, gives us time to
do other “jobs” We put Steve on scraping and painting all lockers, even had him in our bilge pump compartment cleaning it to
paint ,digging a 4ft deep hole in hard soil so we can drop our rudder. Oh yea we had a sm rudder leak so we pulled the rudder,
weeks later 2 men scratching their heads and more $$$ later all is well. We also discovered Steve was a precision taper and
caulker. ha who knew he was a hairdresser as well!
Time’s up in the hotel BUT we cannot move onboard. Steve to the rescue he was house sitting and invited us to stay up there with
him, since he was working on Attitude ea. day there was no transportation issue! Great we had a 5 day get away beautiful view,
pet goat and Kakariki parrots flying by .After that the motel had another opening, room 2
So today we have a guy working on engine, carpenter tearing out sb & p walls in main salon, an electrician working on putting in a
240 transformer in ( we will be in 240 land for a long time now) Guys working on the rudder, Steve, Neil and I .. It’s getting very
crowded! And stressful! I’m trying to stay stress free HA, by going to gym doing water aerobics or doing yoga, bands or pilates
ea. day. Thank Goodness Mary (Kismet) was having a big 60 party we needed the fun. From what I remember it was fun HA!
Plus we did go to TopSail, really nice rest with Steve & Vicky from True Companions so it’s not all wk.
Neil was on aft sump, it decided to stop working & while Nick was on break Neil would tear out more, pound and cut in the
main salon or wk. on replacing insulation in the engine room I replaced mirrors in my head, cleaned & sanded bottoms of all the
stanchions since we took them off to reset.
Moving again this is our 3rd room at the motel we seem to misjudge our time needed wishful thinking I guess! Still it’s fun to hear
the girls (2 geese) honk at you every time you walk by
Some fun: Went with Ingi and Bert on Boree to Collaboration NZ2001 art auction at the Forum North Very cool unique “art”. All
the $$ is put back into the community and to the artist! Off we went from there to Marsden Cove marina where a sm. Boat show
was going on. Now Neil has been harassing all shops that sell kayaks in Whangarei for months. He goes in has them all taken
down off racks, sits in them gets the specs and says he is thinking. Also on line looking at trademe a site with used things. Neil’s
pal John from kayak zone is at the show and tells him to try one in the water. Well he tries the one he liked and hated it. So he
tries another his pal recommends not one he would have picked due to the way it looked. But WE have a Winner! Neil now has
his kayak
APRIL Looked like our May 5th date on our visa was not going to wk. I go online copied forms copied some finance info (NZ
wants to make sure you can support yourself) copied some passport pgs., and send it off to Auckland. Very quickly we were
given another 3 months! “OH PLEASE DON’T LET IT BE THAT LONG”, I said.
And we move again room # 4. At this point Anne and Ove the owners asked us if we weren’t really hotel inspectors!
Woa Hoo Painting begins, 1st primer coat goes on Attitude. April 7. But still a million workers on board and fiberglass dust ALL
over inside and out I try hard to ignore it for now!
Still needing a stress releaser I went to a Zumba class with Brian & Jodon from El Regalo. Well, all I can say is it was sweaty and
I’m sure great amusement for the instructor!
Northland Inflatable is tired of storing our dinghy (it’s been months) so they dump it off and we store it by the shed. It’s a pit so I
take my handy screw driver and clean all the little groves in the nonskid.
Culture & Fun???? New Zealand’ Maori Hakas war dance, the haka, was composed by the Maori tribe Ngati Toa's warrior
chief Te Rauparaha in the early 19th century to celebrate the fiery warrior's escape from death in battle. At the end of the
“season” Whangarei Marine Promotions had a nice dinner and goodbye party for all the cruisers. One of the troops performed for
us. It’s an amazing dance to watch! Lots of eyes open wide, tongues sticking out & hands shaking. Some of the women still have
the traditional “beard “ tattoo , which meant they were a responsible women and important to the society.
Off for a short (that word again) bike ride. We are heading to the Aussie butcher to check it out. NOW I did not get directions N
did. Through town we go, let me tell you riding a bike in traffic, traffic that is driving on the wrong side of the road is NOT fun and
the roundabout YIKES. After uphill downhill MANY times, I’m scream’in N this cannot be right finally he stops and goes hum
maybe you’re right we turn around, ya know up & down again, BUT wait we see Longview Estate winery. Ok a taste of port and
a rest I’m fine still hating the bike trip on the highway with the trucks though. We do find the Aussie Butcher 2 miles back we
should have done a r not a l turn!
Blue coat #1 on April 15th she sure looks purdy! But a few days later we (Gavin the painter) all decided she needed another blue
coat. Meaning buy more paint $$$$
People are getting anxious to head for Fiji. Marsha, Tracen J., Was kind enough to sit with a few of us so we could pick her
brain. Lots of good info and some charts I had printed up.
2 hr hike up to Whangarei falls it had been raining so it looked great we even saw a TUI with is white Waddle
The exodus begins; Dignity had a big party the night before he left, fun everyone getting ready. True companions went up to Opua
but let us use his car for a day ½. OH boy! Off we went to buy cases of soda, beer, wine & rum all of which is soooo much
easier to get with a car vs. on a bike! The kid at the liquor store was so impressed he ran out to the car and gave us 2 hats, 2 t-
shirts and a float. The fun was climbing the 7ft ladder to put all this stuff on Attitude. The place is still a pit so we stuck it all in the
cockpit until I can get into any of the lockers!
Tourist time Next a.m. we went off to play tourist a bit and hit the Kiwi museum. A bit of a disappointment, you walk into a quiet
dark room; stare into a big glass enclosure where the Kiwi sleeps in their little houses. Ok well we did see the butt of one in the
monitor once we left. The only pic I got was the stuffed one on the front counter .Oh well if the 20 bucks does go to protect the
little guys I’m ok with it
Nothing we can really do on Attitude for a few days so we rented a car to see a few more sites close to Whangarei. 1st stop
Kauri Museum in Matakohe, to learn about the huge millenia old Kauri tree, see how they used the wood and gum (sap) .The sap
looks like amber. Headed for Waipoua Kauri Forest where Tane Mahuta (Maori forest god) the largest Kauri alive has been for
2,000 years! Pretty impressive at 167ft high and 57ft around. The drive was beautiful we could see the sea at one pt. so took a
detour at Maunganui Bluff, Gorgeous beach with a nice bluff and kelp all over. I have to say one of my highlights was Dargaville
which holds the claim to fame of the Kumara (sweet potatoes) capitol of New Zealand. I made Neil go out of the way by 6mi so
we could take a pic with a big paper mache Kumara .Come on we were playing tourist that day!
Next day Zion Wildlife Preserve, a place for rescue cats they have 37! White tigers, cheetahs, lion cubs, and adults. They even
have the Lion who was used to make the lion in Narnia. All the cats looked healthy and beautiful but it was sad, that place is the
end of the line for them! One female is in an enclosure with a male and she won’t mate with him. BUT she carries on a
conversation with a lion in another enclosure and we were told those 2 cannot mate. What a bummer you are held captive and
can’t even choose your partner!
MAY
Fiberglass and ripping out all done inside so while Brian is in the process of putting walls back together I start the clean up!
EVERY locker has to be emptied & everything in it wiped down. Plus walls, lights, fans, floors.. Tiney tiny fiberglass dust on the
entire boat!
While I’m cleaning N has decided he could be a bike messenger. Ea. day he goes out and runs from store to store LOADING his
backpack with provisions, even cases of beer. Although I did hear he got off his bike one day and fell backward because his
pack was so heavy (DARN I MISSED IT)
It may be May but it’s COLD now in New Zealand, so cold N came home with nice fuzzy slippers for me. I love them but
somehow doesn’t seem right on a boat Ok so bathing suits don’t work here off we go to the resale shop. Fleece blanket, 2
heavy fleece coats, flannel pants, wk. pants for N, hats (I’m talking Heidi hat), all for 24 bucks, Made our day.
All engine wk. done (and it works) but rain is delaying our final paint job! So changed switches on reading light, new latches on
refrigerators, new seal on some of the outside lockers, had to clean and fix switches on our windlass, & put new drain hoses on
lockers
27th ALMOST there! Should be going in water BUT too windy to move the tent to take us out AND a piece of stainless on
transom does NOT fit right. 28th bye bye hotel, We moved back on to Attitude, but still sitting in the shed and cold, it was only
60 degrees, Thanks to Ann from the Marina Court hotel we stayed warm, she ordered us a nice down comforter! AGAIN love it
but does not seem right on a boat.
So almost back to normal (?) and I twist my foot leaving hotel with a pile of stuff. X-ray nothing broken but torn ligaments and
tendons an irritation but I can walk as long as I keep my foot flat! The worst was getting up the ladder while we were still on the
hard.
Ok so 3 plus months of work, living in a room and now I hurt my foot, stuck on a boat on the hard ,can’t get up and down the
ladder AND can’t drink my sorrows away!!! Cuz then I’ll have to pee at night and I can’t get down the dumb ladder in the day
very well let alone at night
Well I had a nice 20 min pity party then all was fine
SPLASH 5-30-11
Attitude looks beautiful, finally in the water. Engine, Generator, chart plotter refrigerator, wind gen, solar panel & toilets work,
Yippe now all we need is Scott, electrician to finish up putting in a transformer so we can have 240 on Attitude and a mast! Neil
cooked up some wings and we bought some beer, invited all our “guys” to the b-b-q area to celebrate & thank them for all their
hard wk. Sunny day N loaded up all gerry cans in a cart and pushed it through the parking lot pass hotel cross the street to the
gas station filling our diesel tanks, cans and our gas cans. Ha only 3 trips, hey it’s all exercise right.
JUNE 8TH THE STICK GOES IN! Beautiful day no wind we cruise down the river to Dockland V to step our mast. Beth and
Ken from Eagles Wings came with us, since I’m not in jumping mode yet. All went well and Brian came over that afternoon to do
the rigging, & changing the angle of the boom vang. Sails and sail cover back on, dinghy pulled up, dinghy engine working, Neil’s
new kayak delivered, stainless all polished ,decks scrubbed . NOW where is our weather window??????
June 18 hanging in Marsden Cove hoping to lv SOON….
Next Story: WARM Fiji Fun
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