Apart from our account of the Round New Zealand Two-Handed Race, we have been horribly remiss in reporting on our activities for this year. Our only excuse is that our sailing activities otherwise have been pretty limited, though very enjoyable. This mostly photographic account of the rest of our year is meant to make some amends and we hope to do better in 2013. As
usual there was plenty of maintenance to keep us busy on ‘Sunstone’, though
she is holding up amazingly well after 48 years of hard use. For our social
sailing we often still went ‘Rum Racing’ with the Stewart 34s on Thursday
afternoons in Auckland, organised, indeed commanded, still by the
personification of Stewart racing, Bill Miller, now in his 87th
year. (That’s Bill pouring the rum!) During the rugby season we make up for
our lack of a television by forays to the ‘Cav’ in nearby Ponsonby, where we
can watch Super 15 games and test matches. Occasionally there is also some
yachting excitement, such as when the AC 45s are racing or their big sisters
the AC72s are launched in the Viaduct Basin in central Auckland. |
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In
January and February, we also had the pleasure of crewing on Mike Webster’s
beautiful ‘Northerner’ in the Mahurangi Regatta and the Classics Regatta. We
joined the fleet of beautiful and hard-raced classics. |
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After
the Round NZ Race, we flew to England for a visit to family and friends. A
spot of unaccustomed gardening, helping Dave to transplant an apple tree,
kept Tom busy, while Vicky caught up with school friend, Deb Reichl in
Cambridge, outside their old secondary school. |
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We
toured some of East Anglia’s sights, including Orford Castle, the tide-mill
at Woodbridge, the Butt & Oyster pub at Pin Mill and Vicky’s parents’
parish church at West Mersea. |
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As
we knew we wouldn’t see English friends for Vicky’s 60th, we held
a 59 1/2th party at the RORC (Royal Ocean Racing Club), which gave a chance
to catch up and reminisce with sailing friends. |
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one of those eccentric anomalies of British life, the ‘James Caird’, the tiny
craft in which Shackleton managed to sail from Elephant Island to South
Georgia, is kept not in a museum, but at his old school, Dulwich College.
Fortunately a cousin’s son attends the school and so we were able to pay our
respects, both to the boat and the man. |
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Wordsworth
can say what he likes about daffodils, but it is really a field of bluebells
which best captures a sense of spring in England, while Flatford Mill in the
heart of Constable country is about as essentially English as you can be. For
the a bit of Roman flavour there is always Colchester Castle. |
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At
the end of May, we finally managed to gather together the whole of the
Jackson clan as well as Erika’s closest friends to celebrate her life and to
reunite her with her husband, Bill, in the churchyard at Frant in East
Sussex. |
From
England, we flew on to New York. There is little in urban life quite so
remarkable as Central Park in early summer. Getting lost on its winding paths
in the midst of rocks and trees, it is very hard to believe that you are in
the middle of one of the most densely crowded and vibrant cities in the
world. Visiting
New York in summer was not our real reason for going to the States. Tom’s
sister, Inge, had been sending increasingly happy and exuberant e-mails
during the preceding six months as she and Rob Freeman got to know each
other. While
in England she had let us know that they had become engaged and we were
delighted to be able finally to meet Rob and see for ourselves how very happy
they are together. |
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While
visiting Rob’s beautiful home in Bristol Rhode Island, we were also able to
revisit the Herreshoff Museum there and marvel once again at the creativity
and ingenuity of Cap’n Nat. We were also able to visit the IYRS
(International Yacht Restoration School) at Newport nearby. Tom and Inge also
had the chance to reminisce over past the sailing exploits of their youth at
the Watch Hill Yacht Club, while a visit to the Frank Hall boatyard was a
reminder for Tom of two long summers spent learning how to maintain wooden
yachts. |
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Back to Auckland for the winter, we finally had the chance to compete in New Zealand’s largest race series the Simrad Triple Series run by SSANZ for two-handed crews. In 2012 there were over 150 entries. The weather for the three race series varied from light and variable to stormy and challenging. We did not cover ourselves with the glory in the normal results, but came away with a good haul of rum in the ‘Old Farts’ competition in which boat and crew age are primary handicap factors! |
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We
had always anticipated that this last winter would be one for medical
procedures. Each of us had finally decided to take the plunge. In Vicky’s
case it was for new artificial lenses, which have given her the best
eye-sight she has had since childhood and have also given her back bright
colours. In Tom’s case it was time to re-surface his increasingly arthritic
left hip. |
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Thanks
to the kindness of Simon and Mary Wright, we were able to house-sit their
Waiheke cottage for two weeks during Tom’s initial recovery, which would have
been difficult or impossible on the boat. The huge woodpile gave
opportunities for sawing therapy, while the large TV with Sky gave
opportunities for rugby therapy. |
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In the meantime Vicky had the run of a kitchen for the first time in decades and made the most of the practice for when we become house-owners and eventually occupiers. As
a prize for the two female participants in the RNZ Race, Vicky and Sally were
given the chance to have a manicure - certainly Vicky’s first and most
probably last! |
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With
medical procedures out of the way and recovery well begun, we started our
search for a property in New Zealand. Initially we were looking in both the
Warkworth area, north of Auckland and the Nelson area at the northwest corner
of the South Island. However, as time progressed we looked increasingly in
the latter – a process that is still on-going. |
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As usual when not on a long cruise, Vicky was setting herself challenging, but achievable targets. The first was to do the Auckland Half Marathon again, which she accomplished in only just over two hours. She
had also joined with a group of cycling friends to prepare for the Round Lake
Taupo cycle event. After panting along on her hybrid bike, it became apparent
that nothing would do but a proper all-carbon road-bike – with all the necessary
accessories. Fortunately it was ruby red and so could be considered to be her
40th anniversary present! |
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We knew that we would be leaving Auckland at the
end of the year, so we took the opportunity of Vicky’s 60th to
invite many of our local friends to a party on ‘Sunstone’. We were very
fortunate with the weather and at one point had 30 people aboard, with ‘Sunstone’
well sunk on her marks. |
On
24 November, Vicky completed the 160 kilometre circuit of Lake Taupo in the
very creditable time of six hours and forty minutes. This a remarkable event,
with over 8,000 participants in various cycling challenges, all of them
arduous and some quite ridiculous – the super-enduro is 8 times round, 1,280
kms! There are not many participants for that event. |
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At
the beginning of December we made a quick trip west to Aus – by air for
family celebrations. Dave Stearn, (brother-in-law) on holiday from England,
was also celebrating his 60th birthday, which was a good excuse
for us to spend time with Dave and Vicky’s sister Annabel both in Canberra
and in Sydney. |
S’
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On
19 December we celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary. Though
older, we are little wiser, as we still live afloat after 35 continuous years
and we still can’t resist the odd bit of racing in our home. ‘There’s nought
so strange as folk.’ |
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