New Developments: The Yellow Sub

Time has passed. Much is the same. I’m still in the rigging job and now taking on more responsibility, which I only hope I can rise to. Some days I’m tired of climbing up masts, but I’m reminded daily that I love my job. I’m outside all day, working with good people, and learning heaps. More than that I’m in a beautiful place where the sun shines and I can swim in the sea after work. Yum yum.

Nugget is always there to console me on a bad day.

But much is not the same too. The Mahana chapter is behind me, although she’s proving quite the rascal to sell. However, that boat taught me most of what I know. Boat skills but also personal growth. Mahana tested me, nearly broke me. I’ve learnt that crying is ok, as is asking for help, and if in doubt just throw more money at it. They say BOAT stands for ‘bring on another thousand’ - a simple fact. But it’s time to move on and the best solution I’ve found is to buy another boat. Having two boats is akin to a hole in the head, or in the wallet more precisely. I’m struggling to eat on weekends, but I’ve a home. Two homes!

It may have been a rash decision to buy another boat, but I’m good at those.

Peregrine is the new boat and she’s a steel tank. Quite unlike her falcon name, she’s far from elegant but she’s built for expeditions and adventure! Peregrine is just a tin of paint away from being awesome because at the moment the deck is painted a rancid puke yellow, and the hull a patchy navy blue. An Ikea boat, supporting Ukraine, or Sweden, or just plain bad taste. It needs to change although it’s quite a daunting prospect the more I look around - it’s a lot of painting to do!

Another change is I’ve bought the boat together with Elvis and to share the responsibility with someone is wonderful. Weight is lifted off, chores take half the time, burdens are shared, and coming home to someone always puts a smile on my face! We have a home and I couldn’t be happier about it. We’ve named her Peggy.

Our first trip away was a real mix of success and mighty failure. We had a wonderful sail, with three sails full of wind Peregrine was flying!

On our way back however, the engine failed. Tacking against wind and tide, making no progress towards safety but drifting quickly onto nasty rocks, we dropped the anchor in the middle of the channel. The channel where massive tankers pass regularly. We barely knew how to work the windlass, everything was new, we had to learn quick and stress was high. I did what I knew best, call for help. With an engineer friend on the phone, figuratively holding my hand and drying my tears, we sorted the water blockage, replaced a completely burnt out impeller, and got underway again. We learnt a lot. It was type 2 fun.

Elvis is growing his dreds…

With the first sail trauma behind us we've since been over to Abel Tasman national park, which was entirely uneventful! Peregrine is a dream to sail, with hydraulic auto-steering and a windlass! The anchor comes up at the push of a button (smiles all round), no longer pulling in that sucker by hand.

The smallest things feel like pure luxury. We have an ignition button for the stove tops, no need to spend time hunting for a lighter that I've misplaced to light the burner. Bliss!

I’m really looking forward to the next chapter, I’m excited, “frothing” in kiwi lingo.

We spend time dreaming of where we're going to sail, a pacific circuit, North up to Alaska and then South down to Chile. Dreams are free :)

Now I find myself in Antigua getting ready to cross the Atlantic back to the UK. It’s good to have a break from the wintery southern hemisphere for a bit. But I miss PEGGY and I miss Elvis and I’ve a little too much time on my hands to dream of upcoming adventures!

Though the Caribbean sun was missed xx