Farewell Nelson

Well tomorrow is my last day in Nelson. On the whole it has been a great experience. It was summed up yesterday (Thursday) when I had a group of international students for sailing experience. At the end of the session the young people gave me a card they had made themselves and the teacher presented me with a bottle of wine! I had already eaten a delightful Italian meal at Venice Cove where the proprietor, Stefano made a real fuss of me. As always when I leave a club it is the children that I will miss the most. Although it has been a lot of fun working with Jill, the club administrator.
Two weekends ago I helped out at a teams racing regatta here in Nelson. Seeing the fun that the children have and how lesser able sailors can compete I have modified my thoughts about this style of sailing a bit. There is not time for good sailors to get away, so it dumbs down the sport, but for a large group of youngsters there is a heap of fun. There is a place for this, but it is not really yacht racing.
The Optimist Nationals in Christchurch at Easter provided some real yacht racing for young people. 179 children aged between 11 and 15 competed over 5 days in a variety of wind conditions and the winners really deserved their accolades. This contest also gives me a chance to catch up with old friends from around the country..
We had a little oops to start off the week. Lorna thought that her flight left at 9.30. We arrived at the airport at 9 to discover the departure time was 9.05. A damnably expensive error!!!
Tomorrow I am trying to organise a fun day at the yacht club. I have put some sweets and clues in balloons which the children will retrieve from the water and then follow a treasure hunt. Should be fun!
On Sunday we set out to travel back north via Dunedin. Sort of the long way round! We are going down to visit Lewis and Beth before heading back to Whangamata and Auckland. This will involvedriving about 1600 kilometres. So much for the leisurely lifestyle of a bus dweller.