A few days since I wrote up the blog. We had a lovely couple of days in Mistletoe Bay. We did a very hot walk to Lookout Point on the Queen Charlotte track. There were a few people walking and a few more cycling, but only 1 person carrying a pack. Maybe the others were day walkers like us, or taking advantage of the luggage transfer service from point to point. Some stunning views (see gallery). On Monday we headed into Waikawa Marina. It is a huge place (and getting huger - as another 250 berths are being constructed). We found our place and checked on. Facilities not nearly as nice as Picton, but we were grateful for a space. Having been told that the local marine services would be able to do the work, this turned out not to be the case. Simon took the heat exchanger off the engine and Rose kindly loaned us a car so we could take it to Radiator Services in Blenheim. Long story short, Tony managed to find the leak and fix it over a couple of days. Rose kindly left us the car and we also caught up on lots of other maintenance jobs. I did lots of internal painting, while Salty Simon did some serving of the rigging, replaced the leather on the bobstay, changed the oil in the engine and then reassembled it once we had picked up the heat exchanger. Hooray for Simon who has it running really well. The days were very hot and we were glad of a shower at the end of each day. Shopping and laundry completed the chores and we were ready to head out again.
Woke today to a strong South Easterly. Simon skilfully reversed the boat out of our spot and we were soon heading out into Queen Charlotte Sound. We had chosen to go to Casey Bay, which had a hand written note in or guide book that said that it was good holding in most winds. We arrived to find two yachts anchored on a lee shore and a screaming wind. We motored across to the other side of the bay and hoisted our double reefed mainsail and our staysail and headed back out. It was so gusty, a couple of gusts over 40knts, ripping the tops off the waves. Simon got a good soaking from the spray. A fast sail down Grove Arm and we are now happily at anchor with another few boats in Governor’s Bay. It was a busy morning with breakfast in stages! Winds in the South for the next few days and the remains of a cyclone currently up north to keep an eye on.
Remembering what living on board is about. A mix of chores and explores. We are loving the Sounds and glad to be back out of the marina.