from an email dated Dec. 12, 2004
“We thought we’d be able to stay in communication by email with more success than has actually been the case. Our hotel had assured us by phone that it offered internet access, but when we arrived it was non-existent. Eventually we located a wifi service named Kiwifi (which I thought was rather clever) in the harbor area. We signed up, but we have to sit in our rental car in the parking lot to get a good connection, which is not conducive to frequent cyber letters home!
December is the start of summer in New Zealand, but every day so far has been gray and cloudy, in the 60’s with blustery winds between 20 to 30 knots. They tell us it has been like this for three weeks straight! Sweater and jacket weather but not freezing cold. We didn’t go sailing until yesterday, hoping the wind would quiet down a bit. You can tell by the grin on Mike’s face that it was worth the wait! We were out on our sea trial for about 7-1/2 hours, sailing in a brisk breeze around some outer islands off the coast near Auckland. For lunch we anchored in a cove and warmed up with corn chowder cooked by Anouk and served from Raven’s galley.
The final step before finalizing the purchase (and wiring the $$$) is the survey, or pre-purchase exam. As a horse person I think of it as a vet check;-). A crew of technicians had already crawled all over the boat, from bow to stern and top (of the mast) to bottom, checking out all systems while she was berthed in her slip. But the parts underwater needed to be inspected as well. At Gulf Harbour Marina’s expansive yard, Raven was hoisted out of the water on a gigantic rolling lift to provide access for those final inspections, from hull integrity to propeller health.
While all this work was going on, we had time to take in a couple of side excursions, including a visit to Kelly Archer Boatworks, where the first prototype of the Dashews’ newly designed powerboat is under construction, an 83′ long aluminum yacht to be christened Wind Horse. A one-off boat design like this is completely built by hand, an amazing feat in these days of mass production. New Zealand is one of very few countries left in the world where skilled boat builders are capable of pulling this off.
Another memorable occasion was a visit with Jim and Cheryl Schmidt, boating friends of the Dashews who set up the introduction. The Schmidts live on country property bordering a river where their Dashew designed sailboat Wakaroa is tied up to their own private dock. Jim collects antique airplanes and we were treated to not only a tour of the hangar where he houses them, but a joyride for each of us in his vintage, circa 1928, de Havilland Gypsy Moth biplane as well. I really dig the leather helmet!
This morning I went on a two-hour hike through a park close by the Gulf Harbour Marina. It featured a spectacular coastal walk through parkland and wetlands, and then a steep uphill climb into pastures with sheep and Hereford cattle. Wildflowers in profusion colored the fields along with a scattering of large blue birds called pukeko. On the beach pohutukawa trees were in full bloom. This handsome native tree bursts into blossom around Christmas time with a blazing display of red flowers, earning it the title of New Zealand’s Christmas tree.”
