Author Archives: freedomsail

Mana Marina (near Wellington) Tuesday 14 April 2020 Five years ago, on 13 March 2015, Tropical Cyclone Pam wreaked havoc on Vanuatu.  The international aid- response was tremendous and it was a proud time, seeing firsthand the timely and substantial response, particularly of Australia and New Zealand. Of course, back then, there was no globalContinue reading “You Feel So Helpless”

Mana Marina (near Wellington) Sunday 12 April 2020 & Monday 13 April 2020 My work on the “Chimere Operations Manual” started early this morning, after a night that could best be described as wild and woolly, with the constant 30-40 knot north west wind and driving rain keeping up throughout the night. The strong windContinue reading “Shaking the Tree Harder”

Mana Marina (near Wellington) Good Friday 10 April 2020 & Saturday 11 April 2020 This would have to be the quietest Easter Week-End on record.  That’s my assessment, based on the lack of activity here and around the country at what would otherwise be a time of family fun and school holiday activity – theContinue reading “Easter at Mana”

Mana Marina (near Wellington) Wednesday 8 April 2020 & Thursday 9 April 2020 Is it Wednesday, or is it Thursday?  Must be a sure sign that time is taking on a new dimension aboard.  Although, having been retired now for almost two years, it’s not the first time I’ve forgotten what day it is.  AfterContinue reading “Still Looking For Crew”

Mana Marina (near Wellington) Tuesday 7 April 2020 Having locked myself down aboard Chimere, for nearly two weeks now … only going out for brief walks, and like everyone else, avoided human contact like the plague – perhaps not the best analogy, but I can see now where the phrase might have got it’s originsContinue reading “The Supermarket Experience”

Mana Marina (near Wellington) Monday 6 April 2020 The day started with good intentions … my goal being to walk down the road to the local supermarket.  Once inside the supermarket I was going to buy a few items, assuming they were on the shelves, such as bread, tomatoes and cheese … plus anything elseContinue reading “Nearly Went to the Shops Today”

Mana Marina (near Wellington) Sunday 5 April 2020 It’s always a welcome surprise … the extra hour you gain each year from turning the clocks back at the end of Daylight Saving.  The effect might only last half a day, but the extra hour in bed, or doing whatever, is certainly a better option toContinue reading “An Extra Hour Today”

Mana Marina (near Wellington) Saturday 4 April 2020 It was a simply gorgeous day today.  Or at least it might have been. Under normal circumstances, boats would be coming and going.  Families would be playing on the beach beyond the breakwater and there’d be the noise of fun and activity. But of course, like everywhereContinue reading “It Might Have Been a Gorgeous Day”

Mana Marina (near Wellington) Friday 3 April 2020 The big news today is that I started the motor, untied the mooring lines and went for a “voyage”.  It was a very short voyage.  Probably too short even for the GPS tracker to even pick it up … but here I am neatly tucked up inContinue reading “Same Postcode – Different Address”

Mana Marina (near Wellington) Thursday 2 April 2020 My friend Murray asked me the other day … “Are you on WhatsApp? … or maybe we could Skype?”  “I’ve got WhatsApp on my phone, but I could Messenger you on the computer”, I said “Is that the same as FaceTiming?”, I asked “Not sure”, said Murray,Continue reading “Communications Overload”