Since we arrived in Opua twelve days ago, it has been work, work, work. We have replaced the attachment bolts for our toilet, which involves sticking your hand through a miniature access point, and trying to twist your arm to hold the nut that’s a foot farther in. We have replaced both our fresh water and salt water faucets, making us take out and reinstall the water maker. We have taken out the water heater and are in the middle of replacing it. We have gone up the mast several times to wax it and clean and check the rigging. We have, we have, we have. The list seems to go on forever.
Thankfully there are some benefits to being at Bay of Islands Marina, such as reliable internet in a comfortable lounge, stores with diverse foods, a hospital to take my cast off (that finally happened a week ago, dishes here I come!), hot water showers, and human interactions. For the first time this cruise I have met other teenagers! Mostly connecting in the lounge, it has been the most fun I have had in ages, except (of course) for the work. School unfortunately has also restarted. In algebra I have just finished quadratics and am now moving onto squares of binomials. For history I am reading about New Zealand, mostly about Maori and European Settler conflicts, and what is going on today to “reimburse” Maori, specifically reading about the Treaty of Waitangi (if you research the Treaty of Waitangi there are many different views, but the book I am using is Remembrance of Pacific Pasts, by multiple authors.)
We are isolated here in the small town of Opua, but just a few miles away there is a larger town, probably with a population close to 1,000, called Pahia. Most cruisers go there to provision. A few hours south of us is Auckland, where were are going Monday to purchase a car and backpacking gear! Our plan is to stay at Bay of Islands Marina for another week or so before cruising the Bay of Islands and the east coast of the North Island. We’ll come back in time to drop Anson off for his time in the South Island with our friends Kathy and Yannai, who are flying in from California. Devon