Radio NZ interviewed us about the creation and upcoming launch of the Cookbook- Appetizers Afloat

A Cookbook Fundraiser for Local Maritime Scholarships…planted as a seed turned into a full time job for many months: Appetizers Afloat

The Official Book Launch with Food, Music and Book Signings with the Honorable Mayor of Whangarei- Sheryl Mai

How the cookbook happened and how we all got roped into this project is a funny story as my friend Naylene from the Marina Office said to me one morning “Y’all ought to write a cruisers cookbook!” She had mentioned it to me before so as I left the office I bumped into Betsy and asked her what she thought. Betsy is a keen organizer of all things that need to get done so we set a date at the local cafe to discuss. Immediately we decided the cookbook would be a fundraiser to give back to the Whangarei community that has given us so much during the Covid Pandemic of 2020. Next we organized the yachtie’s to contribute their local expertise as well as recipes. We acquired backing from the Town Basin Marina Trust and hustled up some advertising dollars. We sourced a professional editor/ printing company and finally after months of reviews, edits and collaboration we produced, launched and sold most of the books. All the proceeds have been donated to the Black Ball Yacht Club to provide scholarships to students in the maritime industry.

Haul-Out for a “quick” bottom job at Dockland 5…and 7 weeks later!

What started out as a quick haul-out / bottom job turned into 7 weeks on the hard at Dockland 5. Osmosis/ blisters was a daily job to tackle. We pulled the rudder off and re-bedded the shaft. Martin went McYver on the rudder and poured epoxy down the shaft while sucking the epoxy to the bottom of the rudder with a vacuum cleaner and it worked! Everyone was so supportive; we had daily visits from fellow yachtsman which means so much as nobody likes to visit a dirty boatyard. The expert advise from our mates Eric, Phil, Garth, Bill, Jason and Travis was priceless. Along with our “neighboring boats” that were hard at work as well…we all became close in a short period of time.

Dockland 5 Boatyard has a secret “Castle Corner” …shhhh

In the corner of the boatyard is a “secret shed” that is hiding a fridge filled with cold drinks…some of these boat owners have been here too long! Great Sunday BBQ’s with all the regulars in the yard. We met some awesome folks during our time at Dockland 5 making the days hard work kind of but not really fade away.

FRINGE FESTIVAL – Largest Open Access Art Festival in NZ

Marsden Cove Craft Market

Splashed and away we went to Urquharts Bay

Parua Bay

Off to Great Barrier Island for December- January “Summer” Holidays

(here in NZ they are taking their Summer break for most of December and part of January)

_{Fantastic hike / adventure with our old friends (22 years) on Kawau Island …looks so much like Canada in the Summer}

June 9, 2020 New Zealand moved to alert level 1- and will return to “mostly” normal lives

First stop after Lockdown; up to Bill and Irene’s house.  Richard and Marlene came to town and Derrick was still stranded in New Zealand. Hazardous rain/stormy night driving on a hilly road when we got stuck in the mud on a steep incline and Bill had to tow our van out of the mud. We arrived at Irene’s doorstep drenched and Richard was sprayed from head to toe with mud. She gave us clean clothes while she washed our clothes and we proceeded to have a magical night with a great group of friends

Next stop…Naylene and Phil’s place for a cozy sleep over (Binky and Tiny too)

Finally made it out to Helene Bay Café and Art Gallery. Gorgeous bay view, delicious food and a stunning art gallery and nature stroll just 35 minutes from Whangarei

These are the folks on the “catarman dock” celebrating New Zealand moving to Level 1. These boats managed to stay confined within their dock’s “Bubble Buddies” for the lockdown period. Lifetime bonds and a very unique experience for them all

These are pictures of Owha the Leopard Seal. These pictures were from 2017 however Owha has been spotted around the Marina again recently. Martin got the fright of his life walking on the dock at night, he shone his flashlight right at her while she was busy eating a eel. I heard Martin scream and rushed out but she was already gone.

Owha is an Apex Predator…while she was in the vicinity she managed to attack one dingy and it was reported that she sunk an inflatable in Auckland

Thursday Ladies Luncheons resumed when we moved back to level 1. A great way to meet interesting ladies from the surrounding marinas and explore different foods…Thai, Israeli and Middle Eastern restaurants  

Girls weekend at Naylene’s with a great group of ladies hiking, knitting, food, hot tub and lots of wine…

Ellen made this sweet video of our girls weekend at “Naylene’s Nuthouse”

Justin was on a job in the swamps of Louisiana for the entire “stay at home” order. Heavy lifting and a dirty job but grateful to be busy when the oil industry was tanking

Finally got to have a girls day with Adrien at the fresh and tasty Fat Camel Israeli Restaurant. Adrien spent the 60 day lockdown at her rented house with James and Brawnie so, we didnt see her the whole time even though she was only 10 minutes away!

What a Great Day! Jenny and Dennis drove up from Auckland to spend the day with us and Bill and Irene swung by for a visit.

We had all met 20 years ago when we crossed the South Pacific on our much smaller boats. “not a beat was missed” the beauty of catching up with old friends… Priceless!

Trip to Auckland to pick-up the Anchor Windlass would not be complete without a stop at the South African Biltong shop

We have now decided we are going to make our own homemade South African Beef Jerky onboard…standby 🙂

WINTER “SAILSTICE” COMING OUT CELEBRATION

Winter Solstice celebration was organized by the yachties. The always entertaining Mayor of Whangarei joined in for dancing with the Riverside Drive Marina Band, blessing of the fleet that included live cannon fire and a heaping of gratitude from the visiting yachts stranded in New Zealand for the year.

Yachties making the news for all the right reasons and in…

Sailing World Magazine- Yachties Make Headline for the “Sailstice Event” we hosted!

Belly Dancing Classes! Yep a growing troop of women are joining in on the fun

A group of sailors have formed the Riverside Drive Marina Band: RDM Band… a favorite at the events and an interesting assembly of unique talent and characters   Be Kind

March 24, 2020 New Zealand prepares to go into a month long lockdown to reduce the spread of Covid-19

Alert Level 4:

• People instructed to stay at home
• Travel is severely limited
• All gatherings cancelled and all public venues closed
• Businesses closed except for essential services
• Educational facilities closed
• Rationing of supplies and requisitioning of facilities possible
• Reprioritisation of healthcare services

I dusted off my day planner and took notes on our daily progress as we prepared to hunker down on a 51ft / 15m boat. A small space to self-isolate with 2 people so I thought I would try to chronicle the time spent so we can share our bit of history.
Day 1: “In shock, trying to get my head around staying on board for 4 weeks as we are only allowed limited trips to the grocery store and walks…everything else is closed”
Living on a boat we always have a list of things to do so I got busy then soon found out that I really wasn’t that motivated to do much of anything so some days just got lost; reading or on social media. I immediately lowered my expectations of being super productive but, managed to try some new things too.

 Variety of ideas to kill time some more successful than others

regrowing celery

spice reorg

pickling

jams

Organized all the spices, experimented with jams and pickling. Apple pear jam (yes) Pickling in salt (no) 

Made fruit Beer that fermented too long and turned into wine

Martin and I took long hikes daily and ended up logging 68.2 miles/ 109 kilometers

I love yoga but since we have been on the dock just below a very popular café (always packed with people on the patio) I am too self conscious to practice on the deck.

During lock down I was able to get some sweet outdoor yoga in… much needed stretching and healthy breathing to reduce stress

Got crafty with this bowl I found in the marina’s treasure box; epoxied the rim with paua shell inlay

More crafting 🙂 decorated wineglass base and more unique jewlery creations

As I was making yet another piece of jewelry with nowhere to sell it; I decided to finally set-up an on-line store. Easier said than done. A tedious week creating the website only to struggle with how to take a professional photo of the products. A great learning experience. Still under construction but, making daily progress. Actually could have used another week of lockdown.

Martin spent hours sewing: a sail bag, winch covers and repaired the dingy cover

I spent a lot of time researching places we want to go when the islands open back up. I was able to create a document that shows details of hundreds of anchorages from Vanautu, Papa New Guinea and Indonesia. It was fun at first to research the exotic ports of call, but it became somewhat depressing as the realization sunk in that things weren’t going to be opening up for cruisers any time soon. I will be ready when they do.

Some other random things that I did that wouldn’t have happened otherwise:

Blinkist: Get insights from top nonfiction in 15 minutes. I really like the idea of listening to a condensed audio on a complex subject. I can listen to crucial insights from leading thinkers from an app on my phone.
Meteorology: I have a keen interest in the weather and there were a lot of free meteorology classes being offered on-line so, I took advantage and enrolled in a few classes.
Boat Manual: I started to make a manual for all the important boat systems to include the engine, batteries, water maker etc. everything in one document and easy to follow.

From Alert Level 4 to Level 2 we ended up spending 50 days onboard Shenemere

I learned that self-isolation is kind of in a sailor’s DNA. We are probably more comfortable with long “passages” of time without interacting with people.
We are a social group within the sailing community so, even though there was not the regular Wed. and Fri. Happy Hours there was the virtual Zoom Happy Hour. We had our morning roll call on the Net that provided us daily updates and there was the highly active FB Group “Whangarei Lockdown Liveaboard”. We were able to visit our neighbors from the deck to dock chats, but it did not replace the cozy cockpit conversations we are used to.

I heard repeatedly from sailors in our community that we are Grateful to be riding out the pandemic in a progressive, safe, and politically sensible country. New Zealand was able to swiftly shut the country down and there are no new cases of Covid.
Meanwhile, in the South Pacific there are an estimated 500 boats that are in the Pacific with the intention to explore all the exotic destinations we were privileged to do last year and now they are in limbo and struggling with ever shifting immigration laws. Soon these boats will have to worry about what countries will give them refuge in the forthcoming cyclone season.
We are going along with our plans to haul the boat out and do the bottom, replace the windlass etc. just in case Fiji and the Marshall Islands open for us. However, we are getting our head around the fact that the Pacific islands will not be opening their borders to cruisers and we will be spending a Winter in New Zealand. We have a new heater and have started to put on layers of clothes. There are worse places to be and again we are extremely grateful to be here.

The sun always shines after a storm

We celebrated our 2 year anniversary of cruising while in lockdown. This gave me time to review footage from the Drone, Go Pro and Nikon and put all the highlights together in a short clip…Enjoy!

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Had fun traveling down memory lane to make this Birthday video for Martin’s 59th!

Malcom and Pauleen invited us to stay on their boat docked in Auckland at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Club Marina 

Team New Zealand will defend the America’s Cup in 2021 in Auckland, with crews sailing foiling 75-foot monohulls. In 2018 the New Zealand government committed $100 million to help fund the event and the America’s Cup Village was an epicenter of all things nautical

Grateful to Malcom for inviting us on a tour of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron where the America’s Cup Trophy is on display…Members Only

The America’s Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the America’s Cup match races between two sailing yachts. One yacht, known as the defender, represents the yacht club that currently holds the America’s Cup and the second yacht, known as the challenger, represents the yacht club that is challenging for the cup

Malcom and Martin at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. Martin found the Royal Natal Yacht Club- Durban Flag and a Portrait of Peter Blake

Sharon from The Town Basin Marina Office was going to Panama to present at the 2020 Puddle Jump so I helped her with this promotional Whangarei Video

Million Dollar view from Phil and Naylene’s front porch

Phil and Naylene invited us to their annual BBQ cook off. It’s a big deal, high stakes cooking competition with a trophy, crowning, prizes and an all day party of friends and neighbors at their farm

We couldn’t believe it when Martin won the competition with his BBQ ribs!

Martin and Al had a brief surf session at the beautiful Pataua Bay

My Hobie Kayak paddle drive succumbed to rust in Tonga and it took me all this time to  order the needed replacement parts. Grateful to have my “mode of operation” back for some safe adventuring

Ready to do some inland exploring and trekking in New Zealand

Thanksgiving catching up with Suzie and Lori in Pahia and enjoying a Thanksgiving feast in Opua at the yacht club

Spending the day with Mark Souter’s family. We spent a lot of the holidays catching up with Martin’s relatives and friends in New Zealand…a lot of South African’s have immigrated here in the last few years

Reunited with Bill and Irene after 21 years; enjoyed spending the evening at Cyril and Jackie’s beautiful home

Spending time in Auckland for Christmas visiting with Richard, Marlene, Gavin & Sharon and exploring the sites

Being a tourist in Auckland enjoying the panoramic views from the Waitakeie Ranges in Piha and the wild Piha surf beach

Auckland dressed in Christmas cheer!

Adrien jumped from NZ’s highest building with nothing but a wire between her and the ground 192 meters down!

The day after Christmas we had a delightful visit with Byron Pick’s lovely family and his Mom Jenny visiting from South Africa; it had been 15 years since we had seen them! 

Yes…more South African Braais:)

The Town Basin Marina had a Boat Decorating contest and I got really into it; adding decorations  bit by bit for a few weeks. The Mayor of Whangarei was the judge and when she visited Shenemere I explained that we are so close to the cafés and walking path that we always have someone asking us questions or just having a “chin wag”. I told her that I feel like an Ambassador for the marina having the responsibility of answering the inquiries. The Mayor awarded Shenemere the winner of the contest not necessarily because our decorations were the best but because she liked the way we interact with the community.

It is summer in New Zealand and it is warm so it is hard to get into the spirit of the season. I do like how the Kiwis close down the last three weeks of December. Retail stores are open but, most of all the local business close up and enjoy time with their families. 

Next Diary entry…Road trip and camping in Northland

Camping Adventures by Campervan

New Zealand is all about natural attractions. It has a reputation for untouched landscapes, welcoming wilderness and spectacular scenery. Along with all the Kiwi’s on Christmas Holidays we found the best way to experience all of that picture-postcard perfection is undoubtedly by camping: it’s cheap, fun and hopefully will put as little civilization between us and beautiful New Zealand as possible.
Campervans are very popular in New Zealand, particularly when everyone is off for the Christmas holidays. Camping is a number one past time and just seems fit in well with the laid-back culture of the Kiwi’s. So off we went in our van with a bed and basic camping supplies: chairs, table and stove.

From Whangarei to Dargaville, Kauri Forest, Opononi, Ahipara, Cape Reinga, Toupo Bay, Matauri Bay and Opua

Rick Taylor recovered ancient kauri from swamplands near his home in Dargaville on the Kauri Coast, in Northland during 2000 to 2003. He had samples carbon dated – the results show that the ancient kauri had been buried for around 3860 years!!!

His gallery/studio has been operating in Dargaville for over 22 years and he welcomes wood turners and those interested in the art of wood turning from all around the world to visit. We had a pleasant visit with his wife and enjoyed browsing their studio before we grabbed some delicious fish-n-chips for lunch and headed off for more explorations.

We tried to get into the campsites at Kai Iwi Lakes but, everyone had the same attraction to the blue water fringed with white sand beaches…campsite was full so off we went to the forest

The Trounson Kauri Park had a spectacular campsite and considering the fact that most of the campsites were full we went ahead and committed to two nights.

The two days allowed us to do day trips exploring all the aspects of this wilderness area. The forest is also home to North Island brown kiwi population; try as we might to spot one… these guys were quite elusive.

Waipoua Forest is famous for the biggest and oldest kauri in the whole of New Zealand! Tane Mahuta (The Lord of the Forest) and Tane Matua Ngahere (The Father of the Forest) are the two largest kauri in New Zealand

Opononi: Waimamaku Coastal Track

Stumbled into some funky one horse towns in our explorations…Waimamaku was a treat

Rawene is a town on the south side of the Hokianga harbour. This cute town is full of historic charm. We walked around the heritage buildings and looked in on some charming art galleries while we waited for the next ferry

Catching the ferry to Kohukohu

Ahipara is at the southern end of 90 Mile Beach. Martin just had to go to check out the surf; it known to have one of the best left hand surf breaks in New Zealand. Beautiful unspoiled sandy beach was packed with “land yachts” on New Years eve. The lady at the campsite warned us there might be a big party…lol Kiwi’s were as sedated on New Years Eve as anything else we have seen since November. We were asleep before 10PM.

Couldn’t have planned it better…celebrating the first day of the year at the tip top of New Zealand Cape Reinga

Cape Reinga Lighthouse at sunset.

Breathtaking Vistas of Cape Reinga

Spiritual moment for a Native Maori in the backgound

Cape Reinga Cape Reinga is also known as Te Rerenga Wairua in Maori. Te Rerenga Wairua means “the leaping-off place of the spirits” – for the Maori people, this is where a person’s spirit comes after death and leaps to their eternal home.

Dramatic hiking along the entire penusula.

We took the drone for a flight and captured our pinprick selves on the top of the cliffs!

It was New Years Day in New Zealand and the whole country was out camping. We tried several campsites around the Bay of Islands and they were all at capacity. We considered heading all the way back to Whangarei in the late afternoon; we were tired. I made one last call to Matauri Bay Holiday Park and got lucky; someone was just leaving and they would hold the spot for us.

Matauri Bay Holiday Park is one of the most well-known holiday parks in New Zealand. I am so glad we got to stay there. We me some fisherman towing a fishing line out with a kayak and had a good time with them until they had to pull the line in.

NZ named ‘Greatest Country on Earth’ for seventh year in a row

“I’m not the only traveller who has been to a small part of New Zealand but wants to see it all… New Zealand is not really a place you can ever “do” with certainty. I fear you will always want more. It’s hardly surprising that Telegraph Travel readers have just voted it their favourite destination in the world for the seventh time in a row.” Per digital travel editor Oliver Smith

Next Stop…Royal New Zealand Yacht Club and Americas Cup Village in Auckland

WHANGAREI, NEW ZEALAND

Here is a short video of our home port for the next 6 months November-April while we safely wait out the cyclone season

The City by the Sea – subtropical Whangarei. Head for the summit of Mount Parihaka, the highest point in the city. It was once the site of the largest Maori Pa (fortified village) in New Zealand.
Quayside at the town basin Marina is situated in the middle of cafes, shops and art galleries and museums.

Shenemere got front row dockage at the Town Basin right below the famous Quayside Cafe.