Bored in Nelson.

Congestion in Nelson Harbour

Battle Hill Park Wellington
Here we are 19th October and the first opportunity to sit outside under the awning in Nelson sunshine. The last two weeks have been very quiet. The weather has been awful, with some less windy times. People do not seem to be in yachting mood yet. I started an adult learn to sail course last Sunday and we were not able to get on the water. We have not even been able to get the Friday night keeler racing under way. It almost seems as though everything is waiting until after Labour weekend.
Being here in Nelson on my own with not much to do is not my ideal situation. I have made the acquaintance of some of the neighbours in the camp and they have provided some opportunities for social interaction, but I am getting a lot of television time. The highlight of the week is always When Lorna comes down.
This last Friday evening I went for a sail on a keeler with Ralph Urwin, the vice commodore of the club and Rex Sellers. We had a short sail outside the cut and managed to touch the bottom off Tahunanui Beach. No big drama – just a light brush with the sand.
Saturday of Labour Weekend was a great day for sailing, with a light wind in the morning and a breeze which changed to a strong Southerly late in the day. My young sailors had a great time with one of the younger ones who borrowed a better boat winning all three races in the afternoon. It has been blowing like stink ever since.
On Friday I picked up the car I will be driving for the summer – a 1987 Mitsubishi Mirage wagon. It will do very nicely, but I have to remember to change gears.
The work load looks like it is beginning to increase now, which will be good.

Back in Nelson

Back in Nelson


The Yachting New Zealand coaching course was enlightening. I learned several facets of coaching which I can use in my work.
The last couple of weeks in Auckland allowed me to take Zoe to the Zoo and look after her while Erin did things for herself. That’s what granddads are for.
Grace and Gavan visited us at Whangamata and we had a couple of days together.
We left to travel south on Wednesday September 19 and drove to Taupo. On the way we drove past the new Taupo Motorsport Centre. This is a surprisingly large facility just east of Taupon the Broadlands Road. We spent the night at a POP near Kinloch. These people have a 3 hectare block with a lovely house and space for 4 motor homes. The charge for a night with power was $8.
Another rant: This property is 1200 metres from the lakeside and Environment Waikato have decreed that the owners can only have 2.8 cows, or 4 sheep! Ridiculous!
The next day we dove over the Paekakariki hill to a place called Battle Hill. This is a farm park operated by the Wellington Regional Council. It is situated in a lovely valley not far from the head of the Paremata inlet. We were the only people locked in the park and spent the night in a paddock with a little stream, accompanied by ewes and lambs.
Our crossing was smooth and calm, and we were in the camp here in Nelson by 7.30pm. Saturday and Sunday were spent settling in and then it was straight in to Learn to Sail. The first week was excellent, the weather was perfect and the sailors were able to achieve excellent results.
And then we had our family weekend! Friday night we flew to Auckland for Struan and Debbie’s wedding. This was Pirate themed, and about half of the guests were in costume. It was great to meet Debs relatives. The Photographer was surprised when she called for friends of the couple to be photographed. Usually she gets 15 or 20 but at this wedding there were about 60.
On Sunday morning we flew to Christchurch for Aunty Gweneth’s 90th birthday celebration. This was a marvellous meal at The millennium Hotel in Cathedral Square. And then it was back to Nelson in the evening. The worst weather of the whole weekend was in Nelson! On Tuesday Lorna flew up to Auckland to go to work. She will be coming back down on Thursday.
On Thursday night I managed to gash my head. I was emptying the toilet cassette. When I was ready to put the cassette back in the car, I swung round and hit the top of my head hard on the on the sharp edge of the open hatch. There was heaps of blood. I held my hand on the wound and drove back to the bus. One of the neighbours took me up to the hospital where they glued the small cut in my scalp.
I am now sporting a lump of superglue which will apparently drop off.
On Monday this week we received an email from Yachting New Zealand informing us that we had been given a Yachting New Zealand Honour Award. We will receive this at the Sailor of the Year Dinner in November. This is a big thrill.
The weather in Nelson is still terrible, although yesterday it was good for Opening Day. This coming week we start on the programme proper.