NZ Land Logs 45, Year 2: Life On The Hard
Date: Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Weather Today: Bright Sunny Day, High 73 degrees F, Low Temp 53 degrees F
Location: Whangarei, New Zealand

There’s not much variation in the weather here right now. They daytime temperatures range from 68 to 74 degrees F, and the nighttime temperature dips down to about 55. Sleeping is comfy under two polar fleece blankets, but I must admit that I get very chilly each evening as we sit in the boat reading. I wrap myself in a polar fleece, but I’m still chilly. It is not so chilly, however, that we close ourselves in. We are still leaving the companionway open and I’ll just hope that temperature doesn’t
drop any lower before we leave New Zealand.

We were lifted out of the water today and placed in our new home “on the hard” by noon. Carl, the son the marina owner, runs the travel lift and a hard-working young man named Shawn works with Carl. Shawn power washed the bottom of Windbird once out of the water and then he wet-sanded the entire bottom in less than an hour. The bottom of the boat actually looked cleaner than I expected, but had more growth than Mark had hoped for. But it is now sanded and ready for us to take the next steps.

Doug and Sylvie stopped by to visit in mid-afternoon. It was wonderful to see them both again and to catch up on what we have all been doing. We walked into town to get a bite to eat and share information about the upcoming cruising season, and then all too quickly it was time for them to head north to Opua. They will be heading to Fiji in late May or early June, so hopefully we will see them again there.

Tomorrow we will finish getting the bottom ready for painting and begin sanding the waterline. We are planning on raising the water line to accommodate the heavier loads that we are carrying while cruising. But if I do anymore food shopping, we will soon end up with all waterline!

070404 Web Pics–Windbird On Land