Bad news Robert …

Aboard Chimere, Chaffers Marina, Wellington

Wednesday 19 May 2021

That’s how the email from the Marina office started, “Bad news Robert…” the email continued … “looks like the boat lift may be out of action for at least a week (new slings & welding of hooks required)!!   I’m so sorry!  Talk soon…”

Which was a bit of a surprise, given the “lift” for tomorrow was confirmed earlier in the day.

“That’s a bit of a nuisance” I replied.

So it is with plans, they’re made for changing.  And in this case, there was nothing I could do but accept the news and find a work-around.   

The marina office manager was good in trying to find an alternative slipway nearby, but all available travel lift machines would require me to remove the three front forestays on Chimere to fit under the machine’s front boom.  I could do it, but only if it was essential.

In the end I reasoned that the only “essential” task was to have a clean hull and a certificate to prove it; before heading north.  And to achieve this I could simply hire a diver (well, simple for the diver) for a few hours to do his magic with a big brush – simples!

Well, kind of simple.  I’ve had to cancel the out-of-water hull survey, and the above waterline hull clean, but in the end they really weren’t absolutely necessary tasks. 

The engine and generator were being serviced today by Phil from Straight Marine – that’s an essential task – and I’ve got Josh the rigger coming on Saturday to check the tension on the standing rigging, with everything else falling to John and me.  We’ll even give the hull a polish ourselves from the dinghy, one of which we’ll be putting in the water tomorrow, partly to check the outboard motor.

There was a surprise this afternoon with a visit from Kate … a long-time friend of an Aussie friend of mine.  Kate originally hales from Australia but has definitely made her home in New Zealand and as well as that, shares a love of boats.  During my lock-down time aboard last year I shared a few emails with Kate, but in the end we never met, so it was good to share a cuppa and put a face to a name.  Whether we can tempt Kate aboard as a crew member on the leg north remains to be seen, but she has offered to assist us where she can in the time we are here in Wellington.   

In other news, the sun came out again today and it was actually warm enough to get sunburnt – at least for me. (But I didn’t, because I’m very safety conscious, just ask my wife Linda?!)   It was very pleasant, and the wind even died down to a light breeze, which certainly made a change from the past few days.

In other news, there really isn’t much, with the photos giving a picture of the day’s “vibe”. 

Oh, on the boat-sale front, (as opposed to the boat-SAIL front) I’ve had a couple of local people express interest.  One person who lives aboard his boat nearby in this marina, and another is an inquiry off the New Zealand version of “Gumtree”, called “Trade Me”, and he wants to actually come and have a look on Friday.     

And despite my best efforts it’s now nearly 10:00pm, I’m falling asleep and I haven’t finished typing.

Smooth seas, fair breeze and bad news Robert….

Rob Latimer