Boat projects and family time

Upon our arrival into New Zealand, back on Thanksgiving day, we knew we would not be going anywhere anytime soon. The transmission breakage would take some time. This we had accepted. We were just happy to be done with the ocean crossings at the time, and to be tied up to a dock where we didn’t have to think about sailing for a bit, though there were many other things to deal with while tied up.

The biggest priority was said transmission. To access it required the entire engine and transmission combo to be pulled out, transmission removed, and hauled to the shop that would be doing the rebuild for us. Luckily, I have some experience pulling the motor already, thanks to our summer in Mexico which included the same job to replace a seal on the transmission. A few days of hard labor later the old leaky (still, yep) Perkins was sitting in our galley while the transmission was handed off for a “spa visit” in Auckland.

I would spend the next week or so pulling and replacing the transmission-less engine each day so I could work on our bilge and pump systems. Each day the interior of the boat would transform into a workspace of scattered tools, sweaty rags, and containers of oily bilge water. Kerri took this opportunity to work from the marina lounge or the local coffee shop as there was no space for her onboard.

Lucky for her, my ability to do hard labor ends soon after noon so she only had to spend half days in the lounge. I could go longer, but then require longer recuperation time. In my wisdom (old age) I have found I can get more accomplished by not trying to hammer though what my body simply can not take. Instead I just do what I can in my half-day of hard work, rest the second half and be able to do another half-day tomorrow.

Here in Opua, NZ, there is not much to do when it comes to “seeing” New Zealand. This marina has only a few structures within walking distance and most are boat repair shops – which is good considering the work load we had. There is a single trail that starts nearby, so after a short recoup from our last ocean passage we got straight to it after weeks of not even seeing land. It is a simple trail that travels up the coastline towards the next town to the North. We took to it before all the heavy lifting began, and at first thought we would take some time each morning for a stroll. However, once the work began, all my energy was conserved to accomplish the jobs, leaving none for pleasure. While Kerri got out and walked the trail a few more times, this first was also my only time going with her.

Come Xmas Eve we boarded a bus to take the 6-hour ride to Auckland where we stayed a night near the airport, jumped on a plane for a 15 hour flight (left NZ on Xmas day, arriving in USA on Xmas day after spending a full night in the air) to get back to California where we hung out with Kerri’s family for a week. During this week stay, we ended up buying a new-to-us van for future travels (our land travels are on another blog).

We barely owned the van 24 hours before jumping on another flight to Washington state to send my sister and brother-in-law on a cruise while I hung out with my Mother and the in-law parents, all of which need an able-bodied person to assist. During this time my son flew out to visit a few days, then my brother and wife came out to visit a few as well. Many good times took place, but after nearly three weeks of constant activity with others, Kerri and I were in desperate need to just be on our own before heading back to New Zealand where more big boat projects loomed. So, with just a few days left before our return flight we took off to visit our favorite town in the USA; Port Townsend. Here we made sure to visit all of our favorites, as it will be a while before we get to return again.

One last night in a hotel near the Seattle airport, then another 15 hours flight (which spanned to calendar days) got us back to New Zealand where Meriwether’s newly rebuilt transmission awaited. It took another three days of hard labor to complete the task of putting it all back together, and a few more to deal with other projects, such as entirely replacing our steering chain and cable that broke on us after leaving French Polynesia.

In the end, after all the projects and travel, we had been tied to this dock for nearly 10 weeks. We hadn’t even begun to explore New Zealand yet, and we were desperate to get to doing so. On Feb 4th, after one last grocery run in the next town over thanks to the marina’s loaner car, we shoved off from the dock to start our 2025 sailing adventures… whew.