NEW YEARS RESOLUTION FULFILLED

My new years resolution last year was to “Drink more different types of Beer.”  I am happy to report I have largely been successful in this endeavour.  It has not been an easy task.  The breweries have conspired against me by producing an increasing number of craft beers at an alarming rate.  Keeping up with all the newcomers has been challenging. Unfortunately, halfway through the year I lost track of what I had been drinking, making the rest of the year a bit confusing.  But I did well, although there is the nagging doubt – could I have done better?  To finish off the year I was gifted a couple of new and unusual brews, they were good.

I don’t have a resolution for 2023 yet.  After a period of recovery from the efforts of last year I am sure it will come to me.

2022 has been an unusual year. Not much sailing undertaken but lots of little and not so little maintenance and upgrade jobs completed on Truce.  Truce is now ready to go again.  She is full of water, gas, fuel, beverages and food.  I have quit my part time job at Burnco and am a free agent again.  Looking forward to the next adventures around New Zealand.

At the end of my last trip around New Zealand I compiled a wish list of items for future cruises.  There were four things on the list, namely: –

• A light wind sail, something easy to manage, set, retrieve and stow.
• A lighter spinnaker pole.  The current spruce stick is a handful single handed.
• Horizontal wind vane.  The current vertical vane takes up a huge amount of space and can’t be reefed.
• Furling staysail.  To replace the hanked on staysail, a nod to old age.

Of the four items on the wish list, I have managed to purchase and fit a furler for the staysail together with a new sail.  The furler is a Harken ESP model, similar but smaller than the headsail furler.  The new staysail was made by NZ sails, it looks good and sails well.  I have used a heavier cloth for the staysail so I can carry it in higher winds instead of setting a storm staysail.  The furling staysail will remove interesting trips to the foredeck in nasty weather, both safer and less strenuous.  Now, only three things left on the wish list.

As I write this I am sitting at home in Auckland waiting for a strong easterly wind to blow through before venturing out.  At this time of year the Hauraki Gulf is overflowing with boats, they will all be herding into the few anchorages protected from the easterly winds. I predict a fair degree of pandemonium, Kiwi’s love to anchor close to each other on short anchor scopes. I am happy to sit at home for a few days to let the mayhem pass, its going to be a long summer.

I have not decided where to go this year or the route to take.  The indecision is enjoyable, the wind and weather will decide for us when we head out.