Back to Southern Endurance
We woke at 8:30 and quickly cleaned and did our final packing in preparation for an exchange for Southern Endurance. At 9:00 Graham of Compass Charters met us at the dock and he and I drove over to the slip holding Southern Endurance. Apparently some work had been required to repair the extraction pump on the toilet and the head area had been painted.
Upon entering, it was clear that the porta-potti smell was much reduced but not absent. Layered on top of that smell was the smell of fresh paint that masked the smell somewhat. I discussed the situation with Graham, and it came down to a difference of opinion as to the level of smelliness, and in that argument I had no fallback. As there were no other boats for us to substitute, I agreed we would give Southern Endurance a try.
Debbie and I packed up our stuff into the car, and after opening all the hatches on Southern Endurance and a quick shower for Debbie, we drove into Picton for some breakfast. We discussed our options, and decided that we would not be able to sleep aboard, but we could still use Southern Endurance for day sails, and as we had only two full days left, we were not too much worse off as we probably wouldn't have done an overnight trip farther out in the sound in any case.
We booked a motel room in Picton with a second floor balcony overlooking the busy main street. We then drove back out towards the marina, stopping to pick up some supplies. As we were stopped, some very dark clouds moved in very quickly over the nearby mountains. Between the time we entered the liquor store and when we returned to the car, the weather had gone from sunny and warm to dark, very windy, and quite a bit cooler.
It began to rain as we drove back to Waikawa Bay marina, and we hurried to get the hatches closed on Southern Endurance. We then retired to the marina restaurant to watch the storm pass over the marina. An hour later, the storm had mostly passed but the day remained cloudy and quite cool. We didn't consider this appealing sailing weather, so we drove back to Picton and settled into our motel room. We headed to the Picon Library where we took over the two internet enabled terminals and did some catching up on the news and mail. A heavy rain pounded the library skylights, and we felt quite vindicated to have avoided setting out for a sail.
Debbie left for some shopping and browsing of the Picton art shops while I got caught up on news and comics. We met later for a late lunch and then went for a walk around Picton. A cruise boat had tied up to a dock next to the interisland ferry docks and we went down to get a closer look.
While not quite as flowery looking as the caribbean cruise ships, it's still not as no-nonsense as the QE2. This one stopped in Picton en route to Sydny Australia from Auckland.
We also checked out the railway station to inquire about the two scenic train trips. Armed with itineraries we headed back to the main drag and our little room. Here are a couple of shots of the Picton waterfront.
We then finished the day with our books on the balcony overlooking Picton.
This is the view from our balcony looking down the street toward the ferry docks.
Late in the evening we walked down to a little pub-like restored older home for an excellent dinner of indian food. They offered a range of spicy hotness to your curry, and Debbie opted for hot, while I opted for hot plus. The hot plus was about as hot as I can stand and still enjoy the taste which was also outstanding. For those of you who've seen me eat hot food, you know that this was damn hot. Debbie enjoyed the heat in her butter chicken as well, claiming it to be her limit for heat.
Because of the cool temperatures, we decided to abandon the rest of our sailing adventure, and instead head south to explore Nelson and the west coast of the south island. Our plan was to spend a day in Nelson, and then drive down to Greymouth from which we could catch the TransAlpine train trip over the southern alps to Christchurch. We would then spend Monday in Christchurch, and on Tuesday catch the TransAlpine back to Greymouth, and finish the day driving back north from Greymouth to Picton in anticipation of catching the Wednesday morning ferry back to Wellington and the north island.
Let's see how that all turns out ...
Don
Upon entering, it was clear that the porta-potti smell was much reduced but not absent. Layered on top of that smell was the smell of fresh paint that masked the smell somewhat. I discussed the situation with Graham, and it came down to a difference of opinion as to the level of smelliness, and in that argument I had no fallback. As there were no other boats for us to substitute, I agreed we would give Southern Endurance a try.
Debbie and I packed up our stuff into the car, and after opening all the hatches on Southern Endurance and a quick shower for Debbie, we drove into Picton for some breakfast. We discussed our options, and decided that we would not be able to sleep aboard, but we could still use Southern Endurance for day sails, and as we had only two full days left, we were not too much worse off as we probably wouldn't have done an overnight trip farther out in the sound in any case.
We booked a motel room in Picton with a second floor balcony overlooking the busy main street. We then drove back out towards the marina, stopping to pick up some supplies. As we were stopped, some very dark clouds moved in very quickly over the nearby mountains. Between the time we entered the liquor store and when we returned to the car, the weather had gone from sunny and warm to dark, very windy, and quite a bit cooler.
It began to rain as we drove back to Waikawa Bay marina, and we hurried to get the hatches closed on Southern Endurance. We then retired to the marina restaurant to watch the storm pass over the marina. An hour later, the storm had mostly passed but the day remained cloudy and quite cool. We didn't consider this appealing sailing weather, so we drove back to Picton and settled into our motel room. We headed to the Picon Library where we took over the two internet enabled terminals and did some catching up on the news and mail. A heavy rain pounded the library skylights, and we felt quite vindicated to have avoided setting out for a sail.
Debbie left for some shopping and browsing of the Picton art shops while I got caught up on news and comics. We met later for a late lunch and then went for a walk around Picton. A cruise boat had tied up to a dock next to the interisland ferry docks and we went down to get a closer look.
While not quite as flowery looking as the caribbean cruise ships, it's still not as no-nonsense as the QE2. This one stopped in Picton en route to Sydny Australia from Auckland.
We also checked out the railway station to inquire about the two scenic train trips. Armed with itineraries we headed back to the main drag and our little room. Here are a couple of shots of the Picton waterfront.
We then finished the day with our books on the balcony overlooking Picton.
This is the view from our balcony looking down the street toward the ferry docks.
Late in the evening we walked down to a little pub-like restored older home for an excellent dinner of indian food. They offered a range of spicy hotness to your curry, and Debbie opted for hot, while I opted for hot plus. The hot plus was about as hot as I can stand and still enjoy the taste which was also outstanding. For those of you who've seen me eat hot food, you know that this was damn hot. Debbie enjoyed the heat in her butter chicken as well, claiming it to be her limit for heat.
Because of the cool temperatures, we decided to abandon the rest of our sailing adventure, and instead head south to explore Nelson and the west coast of the south island. Our plan was to spend a day in Nelson, and then drive down to Greymouth from which we could catch the TransAlpine train trip over the southern alps to Christchurch. We would then spend Monday in Christchurch, and on Tuesday catch the TransAlpine back to Greymouth, and finish the day driving back north from Greymouth to Picton in anticipation of catching the Wednesday morning ferry back to Wellington and the north island.
Let's see how that all turns out ...
Don
posted by Don at
10:30 pm
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