Cheers to the land of the Long White Cloud

25 May 2015

Sheer Tenacity all ready to rock and roll, dinghy on deck etc

There is a distinct chill in the air, as winter approaches! As I sit in ST penning this last quick blog from NZ, a rain squall is chucking it down, and there is a “Strong Wind Advisory” warning in place for Brett, and Gale warnings for most other sea areas!  Definitely time to head north!

Winter storm!

Misty autumn morning

 We plan to check out with customs tomorrow, and set sail at about lunch time, on the back of the Low front which is going through now. The first day is likely to be a little boisterous, but things should calm down by Wednesday, for the next couple of days. A weak front in expected to cross our route, but it should be more of a help than a hindrance…. We hope! We are quite likely to have do  a fair amount of motor sailing in gentle winds as well.

Good weather.......good food

The wine is Tickerty Boo!!!

 Mary and I have spent longer in NZ than any other single country, other than South Africa, and have learnt quite a bit of NZ English in the process…. Sweet As,    So easy!.... How Ya doon?... as well odd traffic signs telling you to “merge like a zip!” We have also learnt to count….fawer,farve,sux sev-enne,art, naan,…

We have seen some fantastic countryside, and met some wonderful people…. 

worked with professionals, a few rogues and the odd clueless idiot!

An unpleasant side of summer........allergy to sandfly bites

 On the whole, New Zealanders are extremely proud of their country, and believe themselves to be really “First World”, punching above their weight of the world stage. In many cases they are right, but in some fields, they have a lot to learn!!!

But I digress, and this is another blog entirely! Suffice to say, that as we are moored in the Marina, between 2 big stink pots, “Viagra” on one side, and “Rum Jungle” on the other, the names typify some of the rougher aspects of the affluent society!

Red in the morning.........

Bring on the warmer weather, and 27deg C water!

For those of you who wish to follow our passage north to Savusavu Fiji, we will be posting our position daily, with a few comments, on the Yacht In Transit website. ( www yit.co.nz)

On the home page, just look for Sheer Tenacity, and click on the name. All the details, and our position and progress will be shown on the Google Earth Map.