The evidence suggests we’ve forgotten how to do sums. We’re currently out and about with Grace in the Able Tasman National Park. It’s an area only accessible on water or by foot. Although if you’re a pedant, abseiling in by helicopter would also be very doable. The wooded and bush laden hills fall away to stunning sandy beaches and picturesque little coves making it a draw for kayakers and walkers.

We picked our spot and anchored. It wasn’t far off high water so we worked out how much the tide was forecast to drop and how much chain to put out. The anchor dug in like a good ‘un, not bucking an inch as we backed down to ensure it was solid and stationary. A necessity of boat life when you’re about to leave your floating home. 

Eggs were eaten, tea was drunk then we bundled into the dinghy to row ashore and head out for a walk. The trail provided easy walking and we reached our destination, a cracking long sandy beach after an hour or so. 

We hung out at the beach for a while, munching trail mix and watching world go by. I had a brief paddle. The sea temperature is still transitioning from winter here. The precise temperature on the Helen scale is bloody chilly. Feet will cope, calves complain and anything beyond that vertically is still a sensible unknown. 

We reversed our journey, walking quicker this time, as a group of four walkers had the loudest self important irritating voices which filled the air. Dave said, “You’ve got a shuffle on”. Yes, I replied. I need to getaway from them. It’s amazing how sound can carry in a quiet place. Especially when it’s irritating. 😀

Grace on our return was sitting quietly in a circular cove. The water had dropped quite a bit. She looked a little close to the land but not dangerously so and distance can be deceptive from afar. As the rowed back, we understood why she was sitting so patiently. She was on the bottom. There are some advantages of having a long keeled boat. Not heeled over but settled into the sandy mud, needing another 10 to 15cm to float. 

There were two contributing factors. One. We’d put a new depth sounder in before we left to return to the UK and it hadn’t been calibrated properly. Two. Ineptitude when doing tidal height sums. There wasn’t any drama. Phew. We waited about 20 minutes. The tide rose and we floated again. 

Then re-anchored in a deeper spot. And double checked our sums. Where is our friend Ken when you need him? He’s the sums King. 

Dave won a medal. There was a Paddlefest competition in Nelson last weekend so we decided to hire a couple of inflatable boards and get stuck in. Saturday was a bright blue sky day and Dave was adamant we needed to be on the beach for not long after 7am to register and hear the briefing.

He didn’t account for NZ time. It’s not quite as stretchy as Fiji time but if we’d rolled up at 8.30am, we’d still have had plenty of time to get changed, nip to the loo, fly a kite, feed the chickens and learn Japanese. You get my drift. 

We signed up for the 5km race from the beach. A mix of different types of craft headed out round the buoys. A hired inflatable paddle board came with extra bonus drag that other boards seemed to lack. A special inherent feature to stop ringers taking the booty, well, that’s my amateur biased take on practically everyone being in front of me. 😀

It was a grand day out, with a fun 2km race round the rock after the 5km and then Dave got involved some team games with kayaks and broomsticks while I headed off to the market to buy veggies for the week. When I returned about an hour later, the bbq had been fired up so lunch was happily devoured with some chitty chat conversation with other competitors.

Sunday was sprints on the river. The day brought blustery winds. One second they’d blow down river and the next gust was up river, 180 degrees in the opposite direction. Go figure. The course was about 250m from one bridge to the next. Dave came 4^th in his heat. I came 4^th in mine. There were 4 competitors in each. My little heart was fair pumping in my chest by the finish. Someone has to come last. The Savage family contributed two such competitors. 

The final event was the prize giving gathering and buffet. We got a chance to meet more local paddlers, plus we won a couple of ‘spot’ prizes, a tee shirt and a dry bag. Dave also got his medal. And I got a sticker. Well done husband. He said it was for entering everything and winning nothing. Good boy. 

Back to getting ready for sailing south this summer, the week has been taken up with Grace chores. New rudder stop, new ceiling in the front cabin, stay sail sacrificial strip has been patched, the life raft has been tested, sanding and varnishing the dining table is ongoing, we got the gas bottles filled (which isn’t straightforward in NZ), we pondered new taps for the kitchen but the big news is we have a new spray hood cover, the stack pack is in production, we have cockpit cushions for the first time ever and the upholstery in the lounge is on its way. Whoo Hoo. Grace is going to look swanky soon.

In real time news, Dave is cooking omelettes for tea. I’ve been out playing tennis this afternoon. It feels like summer is on its way here. It’s a good feeling. 

And in the blink of an eye, it’s all over. We went back to the UK for 4 months. 7 years of gallivanting irresponsibly had caught up with the Bank of Dave and Helen so pennies (and pounds) were needed for the empty coffers. That’s why there has been radio silence for a while. Hello again.

Here I sit back on Grace in Nelson Marina in South Island New Zealand. Dave is playing with new self tailing winches. The sky is blue. The sun beats down its powerful rays. There’s a stiffish breeze and summer is on its way. It was getting rainy and windy (an understatement given the recent weather the UK has had) so running back to an upcoming summer was an attractive prospect.

Summer in the UK was fun though. And work did take place. Including….. an International Summer School at Reading University, erecting Tipi’s, decorating a skanky student house, some landscaping and some gardening, a day putting up sheds, being a car parking attendant plus some event and training work. We were very grateful for parents letting us stay and litter their personal space in Hexham and Blyth.

We snuck in some UK travel and fun times too. A lovely week in Cornwall, a week in the Thames valley plus seeing lots of friends and family along the way. We miss you all.

What next you cry? And even if you don’t I’m about to tell you. Well in the immediate future we need to finish putting Grace back together, having taken all the sails off and pretty much emptied her contents into a storage unit …..just in case. She behaved impeccably on a mooring in the haven in Nelson harbour while we were away. The new canvas work has started and the upholstery renew starts next week. Job’s delayed from before we went back to the UK.

Once we’re all shipshape we’ll do some sailing around the Marlborough Sounds and Able Tasman area then we’ll be looking for a weather window to get down to Fiordland and Stewart Island. Grace will need to be in great shape for a trip south as it’s pretty remote.

So that’s us for now. Do say hello. X