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

Today we stuck 4 Graces. 2 of Longstone’s. And 2 Southampton’s.

We’ve gone for a swanky turquoise green colour which sort of matches the colour of sacrificial strips on the headsails. When the rest of the canvas gets replaced, it’ll all match and we’ll be allowed out in public again.

All straightforward and I’m pleased to report no ‘shouty, shouty, pointy pointy” moments. A tranquil sticking time.😀 And I do like a sticker.

I believe this scenario is not unusual. You’re heading out for a walk for the day or a journey in the car or you’re off to the office or work. You’ve diligently made your sandwiches for lunch that morning before leaving home. They’re tucked up in a plastic Tupperware container with a tangerine and a treat. You don’t want to spend any money. Lunch is covered.

You’re driving along and those sandwiches are just calling to you. It’s only 10 o’clock, a good two hours till lunchtime, but you know the sandwiches are there, waiting quietly to be eaten. They taunt. They tease. They provoke. Sandwiches sing. And you relent. This is called “Doing a Bill”

Our mate Bill used to be a responsible member of society, doing something clever in insurance I’m told, before setting off on an irresponsible jaunt on a boat. Each morning he’d set out to drive somewhere to be important and professional with his full tuck box. How he never crashed a car as he strained an arm towards the back seat to rummage for that Tupperware and devour its contents on the A3 at 9.30am we’ll never know. But it’s a story he tells and it’s become part of our everyday language. Doing a Bill.

We did a Bill with our egg mayonnaise driving from Charleston on the west coast of South Island down towards Franz Josef Township. We’re on a bit of a road trip. After a few weeks in the boatyard I was keen to get away and do something different that doesn’t invoice sandpaper or spanner’s. The sea swell was massive that day so sea cliff climbing was definitely off as the waves pounded the rocks and exploded 30m up the cliff face.

As I type we’re in Wanaka. It’s pissing with rain but we’re tucked up very comfortably in a lodge with all mod cons having fitted in a walk this morning before the rain kicked in big time and a trip to the climbing wall this afternoon. I was by a country mile the oldest person there and luxuriated in this fact. Dave wins our personal battle for the young person medal by about 7 weeks. 

Come mid June both of us will be heading back to the UK. Grace will stay and behave herself here in NZ while we plan to earn some cash. Yes, we’re skint after gallivanting for 7 years so if you need a Dave or a Helen, do let us know. It’d be great if we could earn cash here but it’s not an option. We’re too old and unskilled. 

We plan to back for Andie’s memorial service on Saturday 17^th June in Matlock Bath. Andie worked with us at Unique Solutions and died very unexpectedly from heart failure last November. We want to be able raise a glass in person to his memory. 

6 weeks non stop have been devoted to upgrading and beautifying Grace. I’m ready for a break. Today delivered some cracking weather, cold, blue and crisp so we got the bikes out. The trip started with a bang. 

There’s a cycle service station along the river here. As we planned to cycle past it, I said to Dave before we set off, I’m going to stop to put air in my tyres. However, the pump wasn’t working properly due to a dodgy washer so rather than put air in, I end up with most of the air out. We hadn’t got a pump with us, but no problem. There’s a bike hire place just round the corner. I’ll pop in and see if I can borrow a pump. 

In I went with my bike. Having explained my predicament, the young lad said, “yeh, no problem, we’ve got an electric pump, fetch your bike over here.” Zzzzzzzz, in goes the air. Until BANG, the inner tube is no more. His face is now the colour of a ripe tomato. His ears are ringing. Poor bloke is mortified. 

It’s not a big deal. It’s a bike shop. They have lots of inner tubes to hand and in no time, I’m up and running again, the lad refusing to take any money for the inner tube, even though he was doing me a favour in the first place. 

He was still exhibiting a little pinky rouge as we left. I felt sorry for him and offered what I hope were kind words, and with air filled tyres we set off on a circular predominately off road route which was steeper and wetter than anticipated meaning we both took our bikes for an initial uphill walk. 

The downhill bit wasn’t much fun either but hey ho, it was good to be out. We headed back to the boat, drank tea, then decided to ride out to the beach along the flat road, just under 6km away. This ride was easy, uneventful and without any loud bangs.

A 45 minute walk on the beach, a return cycle trip and a bag of chips ended the excursion. 

Boatyard life ceased about a week ago however, it’s taken us that time to get things back to normality. Dave has been re-bedding deck fixings as we discovered a few leaks during the 4 days of heavy rain. I’ve had a massive sort out and been in pretty much every locker on the boat. 

Grace’s paintwork looks fantastic. The bow sprit has had a serious overhaul, we have new Coppercoat on the hull, the steering cables and  quadrant have had attention, we have a new chain plate on the bow, the stern gland has been replaced, the sea cocks have been serviced, we have a new depth sounder, the anchors have been galvanised, the ceiling has been replaced in the forepeak and we’re waiting for the material to arrive from overseas for our new upholstery. 

That’s what’s generally been keeping us busy for the last five weeks. 

We’ve been absorbed in yard life in Nelson, South Island for over 5 weeks. First time we’ve had the boat lifted by a yard that uses a railway system. No soggy egg sandwiches or hiding in the toilet to avoid the ticket inspector. Here’s a few haul out and relaunch pictures. More to follow.

Grace has new topsides paint, a new Coppercoat bottom and a whole refurbished bow sprit, amongst other upgrades. She looks pretty good sitting quietly back in the water.

The last time I did a cycle ride over more than 3 days, I was 19. My cousin Sue and I rode from deepest darkest Northumberland through the Borders and up to Edinburgh and back. We’d done a similar jaunt the previous year when we toured the Yorkshire Dales. It was all panniers and Youth Hostels back then. I recall having my first legal alcoholic beverage in a pub in Alston on my 18^th birthday. 

So eons of years later, Mr Savage and I, with two small rucksacks, two cheap second hand bikes and quite a step up in the accommodation stakes, completed the Alps to Ocean cycle ride. It starts in Mount Cook village and ends in Oamaru, 316kms cycled. Things to note. 

• We used human powered bikes not E bikes. Almost everyone else we encountered had electricity to help them on their way. I’m glad we did it under our own steam. Our buddy Rob offered us e-bikes but we declined. Crank those pedals. 
• It’s predominantly downhill. There are hills and unforgiving gravel road sections but the trend is down.
• Most of it is off road. This has to be one of the attractions. And there’s a great mix of different terrain. Our friend Kate said, “If you don’t like the section you’re on, in a couple of hours it’ll be different”. And she was right. 
• We contemplated camping but I’m so so glad we didn’t. After 80km, someone else cooking your dinner, a hot bath and a comfy bed have their attractions.
• There is a short helicopter ride at the start to hop across the glacial fed river. That’s a fun way to start a bike ride.
• We include 4 night’s accommodation on our trip. Organised groups seemed to take 6 as standard. 
• The places we stayed were all very different and all lovely in their own individual way. 
• I had one puncture. 
• I was very glad I bought a new saddle for my bike before setting off. The one that was on when I bought the bike would have been an instrument of medieval torture. 

Both of us, loved the ride. To be recommended if you like a journey.

In real-time, we’re in the boatyard. Grace is once again getting some TLC. New topsides paint job and Coppercoat hull coating. Plus a myriad of other things. Time always feels precious when there’s boat chores to do, so I’m copping out here and just posting a few piccies of a trip to Wellin

Just a quick note to say that thankfully we were unaffected by cyclone Gabrielle. It looked at one point like the storm may travel south but it diverted east and a morning of light drizzle was the worst we experienced.

Parts of North Island especially around Napier and Gisborne was severely affected and the clear up will take months if not years. There are stories of scumbags stealing generators which are running mobile phone networks and looting in presently abandoned properties. All stuff which makes me dislike intensely some sections of the human race. Despicable actions you low life’s.

It does make me think about cyclones and tsunamis in underdeveloped countries. Maybe they don’t have as much infrastructure to lose but the options for immediate help, and the recovery process are incredibly limited. What is going on with the worldwide weather? Where does responsibility lie?

Changing tack, here are a few things about NZ that make me smile.

• Road signs which say “Merge like a zip”
• The Mullet haircut….which is surprisingly common
• People with bare feet in the supermarket
• The outdoor lifestyle
• Really good, and I mean really good fish and chips

We worked all day on the ‘leak’ issue above the bed. Having ripped the ceiling out, we know where the water is getting in. Today we covered the new plywood panels with vinyl and have a plan to reinstate them in the future. We did some caulking and filling around the bow sprit and tomorrow the hosepipe comes out again. Fingers crossed my friends.

We rewarded ourselves with an evening bike ride for an hour then a trip to the pub. They make exceedingly good Sauvignon Blanc not far from here. I can heartily recommend an occasional glass after after a day of boat chores.