Trinidad, here we come....Part 1

Our plans have, once again, needed some amendments..

We have booked flights to Trinidad and Tobago(T&T)for September 6th; months earlier than previously anticipated.

Click here to see the map:
flight path from NZ to Trinidad

The reason for this is because of another Kiwi cruising couple who have recently turned up there to do work on their own boat.  We have never met them!  They are an Aunt and Uncle of some friends of ours here in Gisborne.  Since our first email contact with them about a month ago, we have since exchanged dozens more, filled with loads of questions.  They have very generously and graciously been a huge help to us, with all their answers and advice, visiting our boat several times, making various enquiries on our behalf locally and offering to stay on longer to help us get our boat in a more sea-worthy state.

Cathy hosing down our boat!

The timing has been nothing short of miraculous, albeit a little sacrificial on Dave's part!  He had only a few days earlier been admitted to hospital overnight, leg immobilised in a splint and on I.V antibiotics every 6 hours.  An infected knee bursa(forgive my shady lack of terminology) was the reason for two weeks off work. It was during this time Eric and Cathy offered to help if we could get over there in the next month.  So although a bit of a physical nuisance, the time to think, plan, count costs, figure how we could make it work, count costs again, research some more, sell any items left of any slight worth and count our costs again, was incredibly helpful. We also got to have Dave home for both Eli and my birthdays:)

Salem's turn for bow and arrow target shooting, Eli's birthday

Eli's 12th birthday-outside party for middle of winter-
awesome!

So our current -but flexible- plan, is to head over for around 3-6 months, live and work on the boat (currently in a boat yard), return home - to our wee-tree house at Mum and Dad's, save up for however long it takes and head back over.  Eric and Cathy happened to mention that across the road from the boat yard is a bamboo grove other yachties have been using.  In the same area there are parrots feasting on the mango trees!  This has helped ease some travel anxieties the older boys may have had by those three ever so enticing things:

bamboo- parrots- mangoes = building- entertainment- food.

What more could a boy want?!

This winter has been rather awesome: lots of mild, sunny days and blue skies.  We just had a cold snap over the last two weeks, with lots of rain (which we desperately needed)and temperatures getting to around 6 or 7 degrees Celsius. We had our first decent white frost, with temperature down to 0 degrees Celsius, but turned out to be a nice sunny day, getting up to about 19 degrees Celsius for the rest of the week.  Not a normal Gisborne winter, but we're not complaining.  In the Caribbean it will be their wet season when we arrive, current temperatures (all in Celsius)are :

31 degrees during the day

22 degrees at night

heat and humidity discomfort = high

sea temp 28!!!

Will be very interesting to see how much work we are able to get done!

During our processing time, received this encouraging email (I shortened it a bit):

"God has put dreams in your heart.  He has spoken promises over you. Deep down you believe it will happen, but in the natural, it looks impossible.  The odds are against you.  It's been so long.  But God is saying, 'What I started in your life I will finish'... The challenge to growing in faith is to keep praising Him, keep praying, keep believing, keep expecting... and see His promises fulfilled in every area of your life"

I read recently that we all have a dream deep within us that is as unique as our fingerprints.. 

There were so many boats we travelled away to look at over the last two years that weren't quite right. Or were close to buying but then they fell through.  There were many times when people questioned if this dream was really meant for us, or if we were too fussy.  There were many times when I felt overwhelmed and frustrated, like I couldn't keep waiting and hoping (but I did!).  In spite of all this, we kept on, trying to be led by the peaceful instinct deep down (or God's leading-whichever way you want to look at it).

About a month before the purple pirate ship came up, we found a boat we loved, it ticked all the boxes.  After dozens of emails and phone calls, we found out the guy put it to a one week auction on e-bay. He didn't realise how serious we were and we were seriously a bit gutted!  Our passports had just come through(the boat was in Australia), Dave was just finishing up work that week, it was looking hopeful and exciting.  

A couple of hours before the auction was due to finish, it felt like I was coming down with some stomach bug, I was getting the odd wave of intense nauseousness.  But we were leading the auction! Only a minute to go and it would be ours, we would be in Australia in a week or two, sailing the Whitsundays.  Our fridge had our 2 year plan written up with the best months to sail up the East Coast, around the top and what countries we could cover from there.

Our motivational fridge!

4 seconds... 2 seconds, we've been outbid! 

"Quick Dave, bid!!"  Dave is frantically hitting the buttons trying to get it to respond, but it's too late and we've lost the auction. 

"Oh well, we can trust God on this, He's never let us down before," I tried to console ourselves.  We were gutted though and essentially grieving a life we had poured ourselves into.  I was physically sick through the night.  A day or so later, I got an intense headache, knocking me out for the day.  We were whacked for a good week or two, from all the planning and adrenaline, I guess.

When we came across the purple pirate ship, we couldn't sleep that night.  It was so much bigger than we'd planned on getting, it was so much further away than we'd planned on travelling, but it was stirring something deep within us that whispered "now here's where your dream really starts."  

I thought to God, "we can't do this on our own and I sure don't want to go through that level of stress-induced sickness again. If this is meant to be our boat, please give us a peace about it."

What we are dreaming for

It took months to get the paper work sorted for the boat to be officially ours and I remember thinking from time to time, "I should be panicking about this," but I wasn't!  

The boat has drawn out deeper desires and bigger dreams I never wanted to entertain so as not to feel disappointed, nor thought possible, but I can now hope.

The project- wisdom??!

For now though, we're going to focus on what needs to be done to get us there and get the boat in the water... Just like eating an elephant - one bite at a time!

The reality of dreaming (more like cleaning!)

We have a boat!

May I introduce you to Wisdom, our newly acquired sailing vessel:)  She is currently residing in Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean.

For those of you interested in more specific details, here you go:

Merritt Walter design
build finished year 2000
aluminium schooner
LOA: 54 ft
beam: 12 ft 6 in
LWL: 32 ft 6 in
displacement: 32000 lbs
ballast: 8000 lbs

Not sure at this stage if we will keep the name, so if any particularly creative people have a good name, we are open to suggestions!  
She has earned the nick-name from other passing cruisers as "The Purple Pirate Ship".  I liked the name so much I thought it would make a good name for my blog.  Saying this name over the vhf however, could be a bit of a mouthful, especially in foreign countries if we have to spell it out, using the NATO phonetic alphabet, or where piracy is a major concern! I'm also a bit weary about getting ourselves in a situation like: "this is Wisdom... on the rocks!"
  

Wee Tree House

While homeless and waiting for the right boat to come along, our tent and all it's contents were becoming more and more damp. We decided a storage/sleeping area was the next best thing to do. We came across (online) another couple in Auckland who had built a trailer-able "Wee-house".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3SwqNzsNwg

We were inspired, Dave set to work planning and building with what materials he could scavenge from the left-overs of our last build and some bits and pieces Mum and Dad had also. We ended up having to buy very little and it took him the most part of a month, with help from the boys and I to knock up our Wee Tree House.

Pulling down fence, clearing out flax.
 Base built on steel girders, so it can fit on a trailer.

Dave and Eli framing and laying floor joists for mezzanine floor.

Window framed.

Almost complete; had a tarp doorway for a month till
we could find a cheap one!

Bunk below with belongings stored, ladder fixed in
 place to mezzanine floor.

Looking at ground floor from the ladder.

Eden, Dave and I up top, very warm and cosy!

Salem's photo of our wee tree house, door fitted.
In the orchard, under the pin oak tree.

Patience is a virtue

...so the saying goes. I'm sure my teeth are trying to clench every time I read that or hear it from someone else trying to be helpful!

It has been two months since we fell in love with a boat while scanning the net late one night. I refused to click on it for more information, it was hard to make out, other than the fact that it was much bigger than what we had been planning on getting. Dave insisted on "just having a look". We were hooked, it ticked a lot of our boxes, except for the fact that it was 20 feet bigger than everything else we had considered so far!! Oh, and it was in the Caribbean, practically the other side of the world.
We did our homework, made dozens of emails and phone calls, agreed on a price subject to survey, signed papers, ran the survey past a local NZ guy and researched as much as we could on various aspects of the boat, talking to anyone who would listen and offer any further insights.

Our conclusion for going ahead with this boat is:
1) all yachties we've talked to so far have said we are mad trying to fit a family of five in a 30-something foot boat. They all firmly advise at least 40ft. All the families we've come across online so far are in yachts at least 40 feet long, so maybe we should pay attention to the ones who are out there doing it.
2) There is a saying/superstition that comes up often amongst various sailors that if you love your boat, you will look after her and she will look after you. Well, we definitely love it and now nothing else compares!

So, still we wait, the Caribbean definitely has a slower pace than we do, that's for sure. The broker did mention she was struggling to communicate between three different time zones for them, the owner and us. Hopefully I will be rather virtuous by the time this deal goes through!

Grass Karts

Eastland Grass Kart Club had their first season December 2013-March 2014.  The boys were fortunate enough to have an amping Poppa who decided to buy a kart for them to use.

There were three classes: Rookies (ages 5-10), Young Guns (ages 11-15) and Open.
Salem raced in the Rookies, Eli in the Young Guns, Dave sometimes in the Open.  I raced in one meeting in the open with interesting results: won the first by about half a lap; fourth in the second race from back of the field; last race I tried to get back my first placing by attempting to overtake on a corner, with almost no visibility from the dust.  The result was disastrous, to say the least!  I hit into something, hurt my head, then woke up strapped in but keeled over to one side. ( I was wearing a helmet, neck-brace and seat belts,as per track rules). Talking to a driver afterwards who was behind me, he filled me in on the details: I must've hit a tyre -used to mark out the edges of the track- then launched into the air, apparently spectacularly, hit my head on the way over, then landed back on all four wheels.  It cost me 7 hours in a&e under observation and various x-rays.  I had only broken my a.c joint which heals around the break.  But it also cost me a good couple of months of summer with no surfing-grrr!  Consequently, I stayed away from racing for the rest of the season, tyres were removed from the track and many roll-bars were modified.

Dave in orange kart on right, on the dummy grid

Dave raced in a few meetings, looking sometimes focused, sometimes a bit confused, and often looking quite comical with his long gangly frame trying to keep him in the seat.  It didn't work first meeting, he tipped it sideways, arms and legs going in all directions like a "daddy-long-legs spider" trying to right himself!  He was often confined to the pits, trying to get the boys ready for their races, while I helped out on the flags.

Kart loaded on Dad's home-built hot-rod: the Model A pick-up

Salem was a very cautious, yet conscientious driver, often quite a bit slower than the others.  He had the uncanny knack of sub-consciously blocking drivers from getting past him very easily!  Over the course of the season though, he gradually got more confident and a bit faster.  Because he managed to complete every race, his consistency paid off and he ended up with third placing for overall points in his age.

Salem got most improved Junior driver

Salem receiving his trophy at prize giving

Eli was consistently an aggressive but focused driver, with sheer determination mixed with a lot of delight on his face!  He also improved throughout the season, even giving the guys in the open a bit of a run for their money in a couple of the "fun" races.  Eli did so well, he ended up 2nd out of the whole club for overall points.

Eli receiving the cup for 1st in the Young Guns division

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2013-2014 trophy winners-I got the hard luck trophy!

Eli makes cover and back page in #7 kart

A very cool first season, really neat bunch of people, everyone keen to help and look out for each other, and always a lot of laughs to be had-thanks guys, keep up the good work.

Eden too young to race, took a liking to my trophy.  Obviously aware of the camera flash too!

The boys and the trophies: