The End Of Rainbow's End

As they say, all good things must come to an end. Even rainbows have to end. In this case, it is time for us to say goodbye to our first boat, Rainbow's End. We sold her to a guy who is very excited about taking her on new adventures with his family. We always knew that Rainbow's End wasn't "our forever" boat. We bought her in December 2012 as our "for now" boat to give us the opportunity to cruise in New Zealand and to explore what owning and living on a boat full-time is really like. Rainbow's End was a great first boat for us and we learned heaps about boats, sailing and ourselves. And we got to see parts of New Zealand that we wouldn't of easily been able to without a sailboat.

Although it was a bit of a bittersweet moment to say goodbye to Rainbow's End, it is also a really exciting time as it means we'll be off to the States in a few months looking for our next boat so that we can explore the rest of the world from the water. In the meantime, we've turned into those CLOD people - cruisers living on dirt. After living on a boat, dirt seems pretty overrated so we're highly motivated to buy that next boat. Now if only we could find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow - I have a big wish list for the next boat!

Our Final Days Cruising In New Zealand - Get The Tissues Ready

Well, this is a bit of a sad post to write - documenting our last days cruising and living aboard our Raven 26 sailboat, Rainbow's End, in New Zealand. After living in New Zealand for over five years and being a sailboat owner for the past year and a half, it is rather bittersweet to say e noho rā to this beautiful country and to our very first boat. But, as permanent residents of New Zealand, we also know that we'll be saying ki ora again one day to Aotearoa. We're heading back to the States in a few months to buy our next new-to-us boat, so who knows maybe we'll even sail it back to New Zealand in a few years time. 

So here you go, my final day-by-day account of what we got up to. Not too many of my usual weird ramblings or strange stories this time, but there are some pretty pictures.

Sunday, 30 March 2014

We woke up in Station Bay on the eastern side of Motutapu Island. I have good memories of this place from the Stewart 34 barbeque last year, some of which seem to be a bit fuzzy! There might have been a fair bit of rum flowing. We almost lost our dinghy that night because someone forgot to put the bung back in the bunghole in our dinghy. If you don't sail, it would be like leaving all of the windows rolled down in your car and then parking it in a lake. This time, we had a much more relaxing experience. No rum and no dinghy dramas.

Station Bay, Motutapu Island

After waking up with our best friend, Mr. Joe Java, we headed over to Rakino Island to go for a walk. What we didn't count on was that everyone else had the same idea. It was super crowded. And unless I've been drinking rum, I generally don't like super crowded anchorages. But, when you have gorgeous weather and the summer boating season is coming to an end, you can pretty much find every Aucklander out on the water. So we had breakfast in our cockpit in Woody Bay and did the old curtain twitching thing - you know, checking out everyone else in the anchorage and willing them to leave with our magical ESP powers.

Woody Bay, Rakino Island

Unfortunately, our ESP powers were on the fritz and nobody seemed to be in any hurry to leave, so we ended up leaving and doing a circumnavigation of Rakino Island before we headed over to good old, reliable Islington Bay for the night. Everyone who sails in Auckland knows Islington Bay. It is a large, well sheltered bay which sits between Rangitoto and Motutapu Islands and is relatively close to Auckland which makes it popular with local boaties. So it seemed fitting that we spent our last couple of days anchored there. 

Islington Bay, Motutapu & Rangitoto Islands

Monday, 31 March 2014

The next day, we went for a walk out to Emu Point on Motutapu Island and had a lovely little picnic. Of course, if you're going to have a picnic on the island, pick your spot carefully as it is covered in cow patties. 

Emu Point, Motutapu Island

And this was also the day of yet another one of our dinghy misadventures when we decided to carry our dinghy over a ferry and lower it down into the water. Some barnacles and I had a run-in. I was going to include a picture of the cuts on my leg to get sympathy, but decided against it. Here is a picture of the ferry instead. I now have a scar on my leg to remind me of our cruising adventures in New Zealand. Much cheaper than getting a tattoo. Possibly less painful too.

You try carrying a dinghy over this ferry and see if you don't fall against the side of the boat ramp.

Tuesday, 1 April 2014

April Fool's Day and our last day of cruising - not sure if the universe is trying to tell us something? We tried our best to sail back to Auckland, but there was a distinct lack of wind. So we ended up motoring most of the way. Kind of a sad way to spend your last day cruising on your sailboat - not sailing that is. Here are some final shots of our way back to the marina. 

Bean Rock in the Waitemata Harbour

View of the Auckland skyline and port.

And back where our adventures all started - Westhaven Marina

Overall

Total nautical miles for this trip = 20
Number of dinghy misadventures = 1
Number of near misses with the cow patties = 1
Number of Aucklanders out on the water = 1.42 million (it seemed like everyone was out there!)
Number of boats we've owned = 1
Number of boats we've sold = 1
Number of tears shed = Nil (we're tough little cookies)

Great Anchorages In Europe - Part 1

Scott first discovered sailing when we were living in Scotland and he had the opportunity to help a friend move his boat in the Mediterranean to Portugal. After that little adventure, he was hooked and decided this was the life for him. And that was the start of his official brainwashing campaign to get me to think that selling all of my stuff and moving aboard a 26' boat in New Zealand was a good idea. It worked. He must have some great powers of persuasion. Or he puts some magic pills in my drinking water. 

One of his brainwashing methods was to tell me about all the great experiences he had cruising and racing in Europe and the fantastic places he has anchored at. Since we recently did a post on some of our favorite anchorages in New Zealand, I thought it was only fair to let Scott share some of his favorite spots in Europe. He has a lot of favorites, so keep an eye out for another installment. 

Guadianna River, Between Spain & Portugal

While Scott said that there wasn't anything special about anchoring in the Guadianna River, which separates Spain and Portugal, it is one of his favorite anchorages because it made him think of me. Well he didn't exactly put it that way, but that's what I took out of it. He said that a full moon had come out, he went up to the bow to look at it and that was when he decided that cruising full-time was something the two of us needed to do. He must have been missing me. So maybe not the best anchorage, but a sweet story so I've included it in the list.

Broadhaven, West Coast of Ireland

This one made Scott's list because he has a good chuckle every time he thinks about it. Scott and his mates went in search of a pub that was supposed to be located on the opposite side of the anchorage, which you got to by climbing a hill and cutting through a cemetery. It all seemed too hard so when a tractor came by and asked them if they wanted a lift, they said sure. The driver lowered the hydraulic lift with a basket on it, the guys hopped in and then he raised the basket again and drove along the small road in the countryside leading to the pub. As they rode along, folks came out of their houses (which were set a ways back from the road) to wave to the guys as if they were cruising royalty. They made it to the pub and had a great time and probably too much to drink. The entertainment of the evening was listening to the 80 year old lady, who owned the pub, tell them dirty stories. Scott doesn't seem to have a picture of this anchorage. I imagine there might be a correlation between lack of pictures and the number of pints he consumed.

Isola Vulcano, Aeolian Islands (North of Sicily)

Scott's reason for including this on his list - "Who wouldn't want to anchor in the shadow of a smouldering volcano?" Well, I wouldn't. There seems to be enough volcanoes which erupt and surprise everyone, why take your chances anchoring near one that is already smouldering? But it is supposed to be the chimney of the god Vulcan's workshop, so that probably makes it worth anchoring near.

Coming up in the next installment, anchorages in Italy, Croatia, Madeira and Scotland. Just thinking about all the places Scott has been sailing without me in Europe makes me a little jealous, I must say. Maybe we'll have to head to Europe next?


Visit The Monkey's Fist to find other posts on this topic by clicking here.

Going For A Walk: Whakanewha Park, Waiheke Island {Or Zombie Wallabies Attack}

We went for a couple of great walks in Whakanewha Regional Park on Waiheke Island. If you're coming by boat, you anchor in Rocky Bay on the southern side of the island. If you don't have a boat, it is easy enough to take the bus or car to the park. The area was originally occupied by the Maori and you can see the remains of shell middens, storage pits, terraces and the site of a pā on the headland. The Europeans also used the area beginning in the 1850s for trading, boat building and forestry activities. It is a great place to go for a walk and soak up some history, as well as enjoy the native bush, the beach and the views of the Hauraki Gulf. 

Rocky Bay was also the location of another one of our dinghy misadventures which you can read about here. All I can say is if you're going to do this walk, make sure you check the tide tables and time everything accordingly. Otherwise, it is a long, long way back to your boat carrying your dinghy.

There is a big, sandy beach at Rocky Bay that you can park your dinghy on. With a name like Rocky Bay, I expected more rocks. I was pleasantly surprised. You'll notice how the foreshore has dried out due to the low tide. Somebody didn't check the tide tables before they set off on their little adventure! You can also see a large area fenced off to protect the nesting area for the New Zealand dotterels, which you need to walk around to get to the park entrance.

This statue marks the dotterel nesting ground area. It represents the birds as "alert, attentive and protective - constantly vigilant, always vulnerable." The speckled egg represents fertility and hope for this endangered species. I think the population has increased to over 2,000 birds now due to conservation efforts. So, if you visit Rocky Bay, don't linger near the nesting area - leave the poor birds in peace.

There are a number of tracks in the park. You can do a loop track (approx 5 kms) which takes you through the forest and along the Cascades stream and waterfalls. There are some great views of the island and Hauraki Gulf along the way. You can also take the Pā Track, which takes you to the pā site (obviously), and along the way there are a number of archaeological sites you can see.

The trails are really well-formed and fairly easy walks. Which is great because the first day we were there, Scott forgot his shoes on the boat and went for a walk anyway. A lesser person would have demanded that we return to the boat for their shoes. I would definitely be the lesser person.

Gotcha! Birds don't generally like to sit still and get their pictures taken.

This is part of the Cascades waterfall. To be honest, I've seen better waterfalls, but it is pretty little area and you won't be sorry that you visited.

If you live in New Zealand for any period of time, you will end up eating kumara, whether you like it or not. I do not like it. But occasionally you go to a dinner party and it ends up on your plate so you choke it down with a lot of water and pretend it was super delicious. I do draw the line at beetroot though, which is a challenge because I haven't met a food that Kiwis don't think tastes better with it piled on top. I just can't pretend to like the stuff. But back to kumara - it is basically a sweet potato or yam. I never liked sweet potatos or yams growing up and I certainly don't like kumara now that I am grown up. I think kumara must be the official tuber of New Zealand. It was an important food for the Maori and continues to be an important food for all Kiwis today. If you take the Pa Track, you can see the remains of Maori kumara storage pits.

And here is what a kumara storage pit looks like. Exciting I know. I'm married to an archaeologist so holes in the ground are really exciting stuff. Or at least that's what Scott tells me.

We were walking through the bush and Scott was taking some movies with his camera. I thought it looked very spooky so I started telling Scott that wouldn't it be great if he could make a movie where evil zombie wallabies jumped out from under the palm fronds and attacked the hapless tourists out for a walk. This is the weird kind of thing I think of from time to time. I must have been very excited about my film making idea because I said it in a very loud voice just when someone was coming down toward the track towards us. She looked a little freaked out (and who wouldn't be if you started hearing someone shouting about zombie wallabies with knives) so she quickly (and I mean quickly) walked past us and headed away from us as fast as she could. Hopefully, she made it back to the beach before the wallabies got her. This is probably a good place to end this post. I don't really think I can top zombie wallabies.

Walks on Friday & Saturday, 28-29 March 2014

Linked up to Travel Tuesday with Bonnie, Kaelene, Sammy & Van.

On Sausages, Chemical Packets & Generosity

Friday & Saturday, 28-29 March 2014

Sausages, chemical packets and generosity. Three things you probably never thought you would see stringed together in the title of a blog post. But they basically sum up our time in Waiheke Island, so there you go.

After anchoring in Man O'War Bay on the eastern side of Waiheke the night before, we headed over to Rocky Bay on the southern side to do a walk in the regional park there. {There will be one of my usual rambling "going for a walk" photo posts coming up. You'll want to check it out if you're into zombie wallabies.} Rocky Bay is a bit exposed and was getting roly-poly so we shifted over to Awaawaroa Bay for the night. The next day, we were back at Rocky Bay for another walk and one of our dinghy misadventures. 

Next it was off to Putiki Bay to re-provision at the Countdown in Ostend, where we ran into our former boat neighbor at Westhaven Marina. We've run into him several times this summer and love chatting with him. He is retired and spends a lot of time single-handing his boat around the Hauraki Gulf. And this is where the generosity comes in. Not only does he have every imaginable bit and bob squirreled away on his boat which he'll loan you, he also offered to let me crash on his boat when he heard I was going to need a place to stay in between selling the boat and heading back to the States to buy the next one. 

So generous, so sweet! We don't know him that well, yet he was telling us where he keeps the key and where the blankets are stored. You keep hearing stories about the generosity and kindness of sailors and its true. Whether it is having someone give you heaps of scallops or the offer of a place to stay. Lovely. {Not to worry, we didn't take him up on his offer and have something else sorted out for accommodation.}

Well, now on to the other two words...sausages and chemical packets. If that sounds appetizing to you, here is a simple recipe so you can recreate this delicious meal on your boat.

Recipe: Chemical Smothered Sausages & Potatoes

Step 1 - Mill around the grocery store saying to each other, "I don't know, what do you think we should have for dinner?" Say this back and forth to each other at least 13 times until finally someone says, "Hey, why don't we have bangers and mash?" {Translation tip: "bangers" mean "sausages" in Americano}

Step 2 - Go over to the meat department and hem and haw over the price of sausages. The cheapest ones are going for NZ$7.49 and it seems like a lot of money just to satisfy your need to eat dead animals. To be fair, there are cheaper ones, but they seem contain more fillers than dead animals in them.

Step 3 - Roam around the store and try to think of something else to make which: (a) is cheaper than sausages; (b) takes into account the cooking facilities aboard your boat and (c) involves dead animals.

Step 4 - Give up and put a packet of lamb sausages in your basket. 

Step 5 - Try to figure out how to make mash to go with your bangers. Buying potatoes, boiling them and mashing them seems way too hard. Consider buying a packet of instant mashed potatoes, but decide that would be a step too far. It is tricky balance between not wanting to put any effort into cooking a meal and not wanting to feel like a complete failure by using ready-made products.

Step 6 - Remember that you have a can of potatoes on the boat. Decide to fry them up with some onions in lieu of mash. Problem solved. Overall, this will probably take as much time as making mashed potatoes, but opening a can seems so much easier than peeling a potato.

Step 7 - Talk about how gravy makes everything taste better. But of course, who wants to make their own. Remember, you can't even be bothered to make mashed potatoes! So this is where the chemical packets come in. The grocery store has a wide selection of packets and jars of chemical powder that magically turn into gravy with the addition of water. Brilliant. Buy a packet, being careful not to look to closely at the ingredients list. 

Step 8 - Lug your groceries back to the dinghy, head back to the boat and move to a new anchorage on Motutapu Island for the night. Drop the hook. Stare at each other for at least 45 minutes until someone breaks down and agrees to make dinner. It was me.

Step 9 - One of you reclines on the settee and offers really "helpful" advice on how to make chemical smothered sausages and potatoes and then claims that they made dinner. That would be Scott.

Step 10 - Eat. Enjoy. Digest.

Overall

Total nautical miles =30
Number of dinghy misadventures = 1
Number of chemical packets consumed = 1
Cost of chemical packet = NZ$0.89
Cost of lamb sausages = NZ$7.49 
Number of happy people after eating sausages & chemicals = 2

A boat we love running into when we're out and about in the Hauraki Gulf!

I've Gone To The Dark Side - It's Called Facebook

Yes, it's true. I've gone to the dark side and set up a Facebook account for our blog. I swore to myself that I would never, never, ever join Facebook. I also never, never, ever thought I would start a blog. It is amazing what happens when a demon spirit possesses your body - suddenly you learn what the term "social media" means and then you start blogging and Facebooking. But on the other hand, now I can enter contests and join Facebook groups which talk about things like sailing and exorcism.

But, please, I beg you, if I ever start to use Twitter, just shoot me. Actually, because it is the demon spirit that has possessed me which is making me blog and Facebook, you'll probably have to drive some sort of stake through my heart to make sure my online presence dies with my physical body.

Anyway, apparently I'm supposed to want everyone to like me now. I'm hoping to use all of these handy tips suggested by The Oatmeal to increase my likeability. {Tip: If you aren't a fan of satire and really weird cartoons which compare babies to pink goblins, then you might not want to click on the link. Consider yourself warned. But if you like cartoons about why bacon is better than true love, then head on over.}

So if you want to check out our new Facebook site and like the social media-happy demon possessing me, you can find it here. Meanwhile, Scott is busy looking in the kitchen drawers for a stake.

The Dudes Of Coromandel & Other Nonsense

We found ourselves "stuck" in Coromandel for several days due to the weather. Yes, the weather strikes again. So what do you do when you're stuck someplace? You go hang out at the local pub, people watch and take pictures of the interesting people walking by. Here are some of the dudes we saw passing by the window. 

Scott also takes sneaky pictures of me when I'm not looking - like this one. I'm responsible for the key to the outboard motor on our dinghy. If I lose it, I have to row us back to the boat. I don't really like rowing, so I make sure it is never out of my sight by wearing it on my wrist like a bracelet.

They have a sign outside the pub advertising $5 handles of beer. If you've spent much time drinking beer in New Zealand, you'll know that's a good price. When I went up to the bar to order a couple of handles, the woman looked at me quizzically and asked, "Are you sure you don't want to try some first?" She poured me a taste and after determining that it tasted exactly like the cheap beer you buy in cans when you're in university and can't really afford anything better, I promptly ordered two handles. We are on a budget after all and it is always fun to pretend we're young and back in uni. She looked at me with surprise and remarked that it was very popular with the locals. I'm pretty sure that wasn't meant to be a selling point for the beer.

We drank our beers and Scott took more photos. They weren't just of people - buildings can be interesting too.

After drinking our beers and spying on the folks walking outside the pub, we went for a walk up to the Kauri Block. It is a short walk (1.6 km), but there are some great views from the top of the old pa site. Pa being Maori for a village or fortification, not your dad. 

And of course, we got the usual shots of our anchorages. We anchored pretty much every night we were there in Te Kouma Harbour. Not only is the harbor pretty to look at, it is extremely well protected with a number of different anchorages so you can pick and choose based upon which way the wind is blowing.

Now the rest of this post is the usual log of what we did each day. I can barely read my handwriting in our log book, so I need to type it up while I vaguely remember what we did. Feel free to skip this section and go back and look at the pictures of the dudes of Coro.

Thursday, 20 March 2014

We had an engine free day today! The kind of engine free day which is voluntary, not because your engine has broken down. We sailed off the anchor from Ponui Island around 10:30 am and headed across the Firth of Thames to Coromandel. Then we anchored under sail at 2:45 pm in Name Bay in Te Kouma Harbour. And then the killer kingfish came. And they attacked our boat. Again. This is the fourth time this summer that this unruly gang has circled around our boat and bashed into the hull and our dinghy. They're starting to get on my nerves.

Friday, 21 March 2014

We left around 10:30 am under sail (again no engine!) and headed into Coromandel Harbour. We first anchored in Woolshed Bay under sail and then motored over to McGregor Bay to try to drop the hook and head into Coromandel Town. There was just way too much wind and chop so we gave up and headed over to Deep Cove Bay and dropped anchor around 2:30 pm for the night. A lovely little snapper gave up its life for our supper while we were anchored.

Saturday, 22 March 2014

We successfully anchored in Coromandel Harbour and headed into town in search of Coro Pies. Sadly, they were closed. We drowned our sorrows at the local pub, had the $5 beer and took pictures of the Coro dudes. We went for our walk, got some groceries and then headed to Te Kouma Harbour for the night.  We were attached by some killer kingfish again.That makes five times this summer. If only we were making movies, what a great franchise it would be. Imagine going to the cinema to see Attack of the Killer Kingfish Part V: Revenge of the Zombies & Vampires. Kingfish on they're own are a big selling point, but I'm sure if our movie had zombies and vampires in it, it would smash all of the box office records.

Sunday & Monday, 23-24 March 2014

Big fishing days! Scott caught so many kahawai that he lost count. I guess they're best eaten when they're smoked and as we don't have smoking facilities on our boat, Scott threw them all back with the exception of one unlucky fellow. He got turned into bait and his carcass got dragged behind the boat in the hopes that it would attract snapper and kingfish to our boat and onto the hook. Unfortunately, kingfish are smart. They'll eat any scraps you throw into the water, but not anything you put on a hook. I think snapper may be stupider as Scott caught a lot of them. Some great snapper dinners both nights. Skipper Scott even managed to "cook" dinner one night from the settee. That basically means he lies down and gives "advice" on how the meal should be prepared then tries to take credit for dinner.

Tuesday & Wednesday, 25-26 March 2014

These couple of days made me think of the old Ultravox song, Reap the Wild Wind. If you know the song, it means you too are middle-aged and had really bad taste in music in the 80s. Your hair was probably really big and you wore shoulder pads. You are now my new best friend. We have to stick together when people start mocking our musical taste. People like Skipper Scott. 

Anyway, when the winds kick up and you're stuck on your boat, you start to think about song lyrics which talk about the wind. And then you sing the song in your head and then before you know it you're singing it out loud and the skipper is looking at you strangely. That's about it for these two days. We pulled anchor on Wednesday morning to go out into the harbor to try to get VHF reception and an updated forecast. It wasn't good news so we headed back in and dropped the anchor. The wild wind really didn't want to reaped that day.

Thursday, 27 March 2014

This was the day of one of our dinghy misadventures. You can read about it here. I really don't want to relive it. All I can say is, "It's the tides, I tell you. They're either for you or they're against you." The good news is that we finally escaped Coromandel. We originally left at 5:45 am and tried to get to Great Barrier Island, but that all went pear shaped, so we ended up spending some time in Coromandel Town and then made the crossing to Waiheke in the afternoon. 

Needless to say, the wind got wild as we were making our way to Waiheke. At the worst possible time. Scott had been dragging a lure behind the boat and just when we were sailing quite close to a reef, the wind starting gusting somewhere in the region of 23.5 billion knots and a fish decided that it would be the perfect time to get on the line. What a nightmare. I struggled with the tiller while Scott managed to cut the line off. No idea what kind of fish it was, but my money is on a kingfish. They're evil little creatures and it is just their kind of idea of fun to mess with us in the strong winds near a reef. After that little drama, we made it through the northern passage and anchored at Man O'War Bay around 7:00 pm.

Overall

Total nautical miles = 97

Number of night hours = 1.75

Number of fish suppers = 3

Number of dinghy misadventures = 1

Number of $5 handles drunk = 2 (okay, maybe 4)

Number of nights anchored in Te Kouma Harbour = 5

Number of Coro Pies eaten = Nil (they were closed both times we tried)

Number of killer kingfish episodes = 2

Linked up to Travel Tuesday with Bonnie, Kaelene, Sammy & Van.