Matt rapped on the cabin of Honey just
before 7am, and bleary-eyed I jumped out of my bunk having had only
half an hour to rest. In the light of the morning it was clear that
Schaefer's Wharf had been turned into an appartment block, hence my
earlier confusion. It was still raining and cold as we motored back
around to Royal Port Nic, tying up to the wharf immediately in front
of the yacht clubhouse. We received a wonderful welcome from a small
group of club members who were outside the boat sheds and helped us
tie up – Stephen took us around the yacht club basin showing us
alternative places to moor and then generously offered us to have
full use of his boat shed while we were there, his only condition was
that if we have a party in it he gets an invite! We jumped at
Stephen's offer – the boat shed was warm and had a dehumidifier
running and proved to be a godsend with getting all our wet weather
gear dry. After another short rest, Sands made her way down to the
marina to welcome us in leaving armed with all my laundry! Royal Port
Nic proved to be a great spot to stay – right in the city and a
very short walk to Freyburg Pools where we could shower and use the
sauna. The southerly had brought the start of winter, and after the
lovely hot days till now I hadn't dressed for the conditions, and it
took me a full two hours in the sauna that afternoon before I felt
like a really started to warm up.
Recalling our adventures of the day
before, Matt and Laurie said it was the roughest conditions they had
encountered since leaving Tasmania. It was rough, although Honey and
I had certainly encountered worse. We later heard that the Greenpeace
boat Taitu, that was heading north to intercept a seismic blasting ship that same day, almost turned back due to
the bad weather. The Wairarapa Coast didn't disappoint, having lived
up to its reputation, and I was proud that Honey had charged through
it all so well!
The wild weather was set to continue
throughout the week easing on Friday, so it was clear we were staying
put for a few days. It rained steadily over the next three days, and
we made the most of being in the heart of the city frequently
escaping the cold damp confines of our yachts. It was also a great
opportunity to catch up with friends in Wellington – all three of
us enjoyed dinner with Sands, I had a meal with Sarah and Dominique,
visited Te Papa with an old school friend Annabel, and caught up with my brother Tim for brunch when he visited Wellington for work.
On Friday 6th April, I woke
up with a fever and painful sore throat that worsened through the
day, probably as a result of getting so cold when the southerly first
arrived. We saw the first of the sun since we had arrived in
Wellington, and when I surfaced from Honey complete with hat, scarf
and all my warm clothes there were a couple sunbathing alongside
Honey in bikini and board shorts! There was a good weather window
opening for us the following day, a period of calm before the next
set of fronts accompanying Cyclone Cook were due, and I hoped I would
be well enough for the strait crossing. I slowly readied Honey
through the afternoon, and Sands kindly ran me in to get
supplies from the chemist. We had planned to go to drinks at the club
that evening, but instead I retreated into Honey armed with a hot
water bottle and hot toddy, to try and ward off my bug.
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