Well it has been a month and bit since our last post and wow what a month it has been! In this 5 weeks we have
a) shifted marinas -we are now at Pier21 Marina, located right in the heart of Auckland city- very cool place to be and a great cruising community here!
b) moved aboard Camelot
c) rebuilt the mezzanine floor over our garage
d) stored all our (non-boat-able) worldly possessions on that floor (picture 2 guys doing a 2m vertical lift of a large refrigerator- ugh! thanks Doug you are a star!!)
e) rented the house out
f) parted with one of our two beloved spaniels  a very sad day
g) and to top it all off, I have accepted a job in Perth, Western Australia!!
The final point is the big one as it means we are about to undertake our first ocean voyage! Much adrenaline coursing through the veins these days- from equal parts of excitement and fear! Camelot is more than up to the task, which is a major 'feel-good' factor. Nonetheless we are as busy as the proverbial getting things ready for a passage from Auckland to Brisbane in about a month's time. Yep, just over one month! As neither of us has blue water experience, we are going to hire a professional skipper to help us plan our first passage and be there with us. The Tasman Sea can be nasty at any time of the year and since it is winter, we felt it particularly important to have a well seasoned skipper aboard with us.
The passage should take 10 days to complete, all going well. Hopefully the weather will be good enough that we can stop at Middleton Reef on the way - its about 2/3rd the way there - just this tiny sandy islet in the middle of the ocean- too cool!
Anyway, once in Brisbane we will be loading Camelot onto a truck for shipment across Australia to Perth! We thought of having her sailed over but there is just no time- my new job starts ~ 5 July, so I have to be there, and a full passage to Perth would take 6-8 weeks by sea (going the northern route, of course).
Anyway, will take more pics of our new digs and preparations and get them posted up soon.
Cheers