Doing stuff. And things.

Auckland Art Gallery

Matt has been hard at work doing fiberglass work to close up some unneeded through hulls. The boat yard has also given us a vacuum pump to help dry out the hull. We'll continue to let it dry out while we visit Chicago for awhile. Our parents got together and generously bought us tickets to make the trip. Conrad and Mark are excited to visit their birthplace after three years away.



Mt. Manaia

For the last few days, we have been torturing the kids with hiking, as well as enjoying some local sights around Whangarei.

Wave part of Waka and Wave Sculpture

Waka

Scale model of Marsden Point Refinery.
The model cost $1 million to build.

Road trip!

Zorbing was invented here: rolling down a hill
in a big rubber ball filled with water

Mark and Conrad finally got to test out their new tent and it turns out that it effectively shields them from Matt's snoring and most other background noises. It's a good thing too because there are a lot of people camping in many of the places we visited and they are not shy about plopping their tents within a few feet of yours. We're used to a little more breathing room when we camp. On the plus side, the toilets are usually clean(ish) and stocked with toilet paper at the Department of Conservation sites.

Waterfalls and a glacier at Mt. Aspiring

My goal for this trip was to make sure that Mark and Conrad got to see a glacier and a mountain. Check and check. We tried to alternate death hikes (if you ask the kids) with some 'fun' activities. Our visit to Queenstown was almost a repeat of our visit 15 years ago (Shotover Jet, gondola, and luge) but we got to see a lot of new things too. We skipped the bungee jumping and river sledging this time but the boys did watch some bungeeing. It turns out that this is not necessarily a PG-rated activity. They learned a few new words and gestures in the process.

Lake Matheson

When can I stop walking?

Franz Josef Glacier

Mt. Aspiring

Mt. Cook and Lake Tekapo

Skate park in Wanaka

Panning for gold in Arrowtown

Shantytown in Arrowtown where Chinese immigrants lived
while they panned for gold

A hot spring river and waterfall.

Zorb in action

Sculpting school at Te Puia

Pohutu Geyser heating up

Shotover Jet.

Yes, I realize there are real problems in the world

Big kauri tree

So this month we find ourselves "On the Hard." That's boater speak for having the boat pulled out of the water and placed in a boat yard.  No matter how nice a boat yard, being on the hard is always a wee bit soul crushing for us. There is always a long list of work to do: known projects, known unknown projects and worst of all, the dreaded unknown unknown projects.  All of these result in the  bleeding of copious amounts of money. Couple that with having to get up early (unless you can sleep through grinding and welding just out your window) and having to walk to the bathrooms 200 meters away, and you can start to understand that being on the hard just plain blows.

River Skate Park

We are finishing up the removal of bottom paint and gel coat. We should stop with the internet research on blistering. It's as bad as researching medical symptoms online at making ourselves crazy.

Perry with a naked (almost) bottom

We'll take an abbreviated road trip while we wait for the hull to be fully and completely dry. Mark and Conrad are champing at the bit to try out the tent they got for Christmas, which they think will give them relief from Matt's snoring. I think they underestimate the power of their dad's nasal passages and overestimate the insulating capabilities of a few layers of nylon.

When we get back, we'll work on a couple of fiberglass repairs and have the bottom filled and faired before heading off to the Chicago area for a visit. We're excited to see our family and friends. Not so excited that we'll be back just as the primaries are in full swing and will undoubtedly be inundated with political ads.  Much as you can build (and/or lose) a tolerance to alcohol, we have certainly lost our tolerance to the nastiness that is American politics these days. Might need to build up that alcohol tolerance to cope...

Conrad is showing the size of the tree. Mark's a bit tired.

Whangarei Falls

Bumper balls

Jousting at Medieval Madness

Bagpipes at Medieval Madness

It's all fun and games until you get hauled out

Perry on the hard, complete with a grand staircase

Like all immutable rules of nature, including the Laws of Thermodynamics, the Law of the Jungle, and Murphy's Law, you can count on boat fixes taking x times longer and costing y times more than you predicted.  If you're lucky, x and y are confined to the single digits. I don't think it has an actual name, but 'The Law of Just-Shoot-Me-Now' has a certain ring to it.



After seeing The Karate Kid, the boys have been into beating
each other up. Okay, they were already into that.

We started out with a plan to take down the many layers of bottom paint that have accumulated over Perry's 24 years of life and then put on normal bottom paint. Then we heard rave reviews of Coppercoat from our friends on Field Trip and another boat. Although it is more expensive than regular bottom paint, it promises to last much longer if applied correctly.

The trouble started when the company we were using to take off the bottom paint showed up and started work by blasting away with a new machine that's similar to sandblasting, but more controllable and less damaging. It's a bad sign when workers start shaking their heads and looking at you like you were just diagnosed with a terminal illness. The test strips they blasted away revealed a large number of small cosmetic blisters in the gel coat of our bottom. It seems that being in warm water can accelerate blistering and we have certainly spent a lot of time in warm water, especially in the last year with the warm, El Nino waters of the Pacific. Because of the blistering, it appears we will need to take off more than just the old paint and also remove the gel coat. Unfortunately, the garnet blasting method is not the most effective method for doing this. As a result, we are looking at a much more expensive removal method, as well as additional repairs to fair the hull. The good news is that we caught the situation early enough and the blisters aren't in the fiberglass, so nothing structural is compromised. Still, grrr.

The over 17,000 nautical miles Perry has traveled over the last three years have taken their toll. Our mainsail and dinghy, which have limped along for the last 12 months, have been taken out into the field and shot. New ones are on order. Matt will also be restringing our trampolines, replacing our main halyard and reefing lines, installing new shaft seals, as well as a bunch of other projects we have been postponing until we returned to civilization.

We are getting used to being on the hard, which has good and bad points. The yard is paved, which means we don't have dust all over our boat every day, the staff is friendly and competent, and the facilities are nice . We are getting our exercise from the quarter-mile walk to/from the bathrooms and the climb up and down the stairs to get into the boat. The available of free, fast Wi-Fi has turned Conrad from a book-loving boy to an internet-obsessed maniac. He has downloaded an app to learn karate, has started emailing his grandparents and new bestie Michael, and loves to window shop on-line.

We are excited to start the road trip portion of our visit. We have also been getting used to the local lingo. Did you know that Kiwis (and Brits) spell it 'kerb' instead of 'curb'? I know, I'm easily amused.

Happy New Year!

Giant sand dunes at 90-mile beach

As we sit here near Russell, confined to the boat by driving rains, the kids are tired and a bit cranky.  We finally caved to their pleadings of being allowed to stay up until midnight to celebrate the New Year. Even though Matt and I could barely stay awake once we passed 10:30, we ultimately had a great view of neighboring Paihia's fireworks display. There wasn't any imbibing, since the weather was delivering 35-40 knot gusts that had us concerned about dragging and/or fending off other dragging boats. We ended up being fine, but there was a bit of drama in the next bay over when the winds knocked a 60-foot boat off its anchor and set it adrift without anyone on board.

Contemplating the big drop



It's just past three years since we moved aboard Perry. During that time the kids have grown and changed in many ways, mostly positive, but they have recently fine-tuned the art of bickering with each other over the most trivial of items.  This prodded me to read a book (Nurture Shock) that talks about why siblings fight so much. Besides the obvious karma from Matt and I driving our own parents crazy in the same way, it seems that it is almost impossible to stop siblings from fighting because they know that no matter how they behave, their family will still be there. The most important aspect in fostering a good relationship is not in stopping the fighting but making sure that there are more good moments than bad.



Dancers at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds

By that standard, Mark and Conrad have a pretty good relationship. Although the sniping garners more attention, most of the time they spend together is happy. And, while I'm contemplating my navel, I would say that the same is true in general for our lives: the good experiences tip the scale over the bad for us. Fortunately, the memories that stick out are the ones like whales swimming through an anchorage, sea lions climbing onto the boat, breathtaking vistas and immersion in cultures completely different from what we're used to. The stress of broken boat systems, the discomfort of some passages, and the strains of being together so often in close quarters are typically forgotten when all is blended together and you emerge on the far side. For now, the good moments far outweigh the bad. We hope it stays that way for us, and for you, as we dive into a New Year.

 

Mark greeting a bow ornament with a traditional Maori greeting

This big pigeon seems much nobler than its cousins back in Grant Park

A boat friend's birthday party, cruiser style

Gifts from the sea: calamari and scallops

Catching squid off the back of Perry



En Zed (NZ)

Hundertwasser toilets in Kawakawa

They say 'zed' here in New Zealand rather than 'z'. They also don't measure distances in blocks (think meters) or have brussel sprouts. Other than little things like that, and if you disregard the obvious  British influences (accents, driving on the left side), being in New Zealand is a lot like being back in the U.S. Among other things, this means a cornucopia of foodstuffs.  Even small convenience stores carry much more than most of the 'big' stores we have visited over the last few years.  The kids were literally running around the supermarket yelling, 'Look! They have shrimp!  Look! They have broccoli!'

Pompallier House, Russell

Whereas in most of the areas we have frequented, 9-year olds were seen driving dinghies and there were rarely working seatbelts in cars, New Zealand requires seatbelts and wants kids to be a bit older before they drive a boat by themselves. They have laws here and expect you to follow them (and they actually have police to enforce them).  We bought a car to use while we're here, which makes things seem even more civilized. We no longer have to walk a mile to the store to find out that there's no fresh food or produce, but the supply boat might come in next Thursday.

Tannery at the Pompallier House. They used to soak
the leather in urine to soften it.

Speaking of cars, our new "beater" car is a radical departure from our previous vehicles.  We have always been very practical, point-A-to-point-B car people (Honda Civic).  We were hoping to get perhaps a Subaru wagon or a beat up van or something else similar.  So of course we have somehow ended up with a 1999 BMW 328i.  Mark on Amelie IV says it makes perfect sense as we are just perpetuating the stereotype of lawyers in a Beamer. In our defense, it was the cheapest car we could find without super high mileage.  We got a great deal on it so we're hoping it will be easy to sell when we leave.

Our new (to us) wheels

We have been steadily working on our list of boat projects. The good news on the transmission is that nothing appears to be wrong with it (which is good since they're not available from the factory until mid-March 2016). The bad news is that something is still making a very cranky noise. Matt dove into the very chilly (for us), murky, and mutant-jellyfish-infested water to check out the shaft, which seems fine. As soon as we get our new batteries installed within the next few days, we will move the boat and do some more diagnostics.

Trail from Okiato to Russell. We can still find
ways to torture the kids.

 

Nearly vertical climbing hazard? Send the kids!

In the meantime, we are managing to see some of the sights around Opua and the kids are having a good time with friends, both new and old.

Santa and the Tooth Fairy at the Christmas Parade in Paihia

Waiariki Pools--Jed Clampett discovers hot springs
rather than oil in his backyard, digs pools, charges admission.

 

 

Ruapekapeka pa battlesite

 

A train that runs down the main street in Kawakawa