It's all about the sailing!

October 2013 has been memorable! Therefore I feel the need to share some of the amazing weekends I have been lucky to have in this month, which funnily enough both had sailing links. Now after seeing how seriously the Kiwi's regard sailing, and having literally no idea about sailing boats, (especially proper sailing with boats with sails and everything...) I was keen to take these opportunities!

Weekend one was down in the South Island, with my friend and fellow OT - Paula. After meeting her in the delightful town of Timaru, 2 hours south of Christchurch, we made the most of the weekend by meet ing her friend Tony, and heading to Lake Aviemore. Paula who is an all action kiwi lady, has her own boat! Yes quite a feat indeed, so as you can see from the photo below we drove the boat to the lake with her truck!

Taking the boat to Lake Aviemore

After making good time and being able to get the boat in the water before nightfall, we were able to spend Friday night on the boat. This meant that come Saturday morning, we woke to the following scenes... (joined by a few other boats belonging to members of the Otago and Timaru Yacht Club)...

Moorings at Lake Aviemore

Our particular spot had it's own particular features, including a submerging boarding platform , but absolutely gorgeous views...

After breakfast and some interesting chats with some of the other sailing club members, Paula led me and Tony out on the lake, and was fab with her instructions, and made me feel very safe, even as the winds began to pick up, and the boat really tilted during some 'tacking' maneuvers.

Tony & Paula keeping watch..

Enjoying a sail with Captain Paula...

Of course sailing wouldn't be sailing with out some seriously bad pirate impressions, and this patch (that just happened to be on board) did little to help with my awful impressions - I was no Captain Jack Sparrow....

Saturday's on-lake adventure was cut short by some pretty strong winds but that didn't stop our crew keeping up the fun activities with a spot of 'slack-lining', which is something I have never tried before, but have seen people doing around Wellington. It involves tying a line between two trees, posts or anything, and then trying to walk along the line without falling off.... it's not easy! Paula started off, and did a pretty good job....

I went next but was bloody awful, even though I thought my balance was half decent... I needed help, and lots of it...

Tony was just awesome, and it was amazing watching him regain his balance whilst balancing on this line...

Saturday night was the 'highlight' of this weekend, as the theme of the weekend was cowboys. Having never been shy to have a dress up, I got myself a half decent costume. Paula & Tony joined in the fun with the rest of the yacht club, see below...

I went for what I thought was a decent outfit, but most people who saw it seem to think it's a bit close to being like 'Woody' from Toy Story....

After a few beers, and some funny games of cards we spent another night on the boat, before I had a 4 hour drive back to Christchurch airport and a flight back to Wellington. Couldn't thank Paula enough for a great experience and for teaching me about the basics of sailing!

Weekend 2 - was up in Auckland (North Island) and involved boats of a much bigger kind. The 'Tall Ship Regatta' is a World wide race, that has several legs. This leg was from Sydney to Auckland (across the Tasman sea). The reason for heading up to Auckland to see some of the boats, was to catch up with friends, and return the car of a friend back to her family home - which meant a 10 hour drive from Wellington to Auckland! Quite randomly this led to a chance encounter to meet my mate Bez in Taupo who happened to be staying there that weekend.
Another reason for heading to Auckland was because I knew someone (Kylie) who was actually on one of the boats - The Tecla - a Dutch boat that actually came 2nd in this race. The weather was amazing in Auckland as you can see, and the view over the harbour as perfect for seeing the boats...

Tall ships by the 'Cloud' building...

One of the biggest and most popular ships you could look around was the 'Spirit of New Zealand', and as you can see from the photo's it was pretty popular!

As I said, my friend's boat the Tecla, cam second and was one of the smaller boats in the Regatta. It was moored in a great spot, with a backdrop of the city behind it. Kylie was able to get me on board to have a look around and show me the living quarters that she and the rest of the friendly crew had endured for the past few weeks.  The crew would take shifts through the day and night, and somehow managed to sleep in-between!

Views of the Tecla, with City Backdrop

Auckland back drop...

After a fun night out with the crew drinking beers, and listening to all kinds of funny stories and tales from this friendly bunch, on Sunday we took the time to explore a few of the other ships, including the 'Spirit of New Zealand'. It was an awesome ship, with a mini lecture theatre build under the deck, and could hold a significant number of recruits. 

Kylie on the 'Spirit of NZ'

Wet weather gear!

So in just 2-3 weeks I had found myself on boats; on a small sail boat in Lake Aviemore in the South  of the South Island, and a large sail ship in the North of the North Island - both times with friends who could teach me about the skills of sailing. I have definitely appreciated some of the finer points of sailing and have begun to understand why this activity is so popular and part of the culture of New Zealand.  These experiences were not possible without the support of these friends, and it's yet more fantastic memories to add to an already amazing year!