May 2022

Date: May 2022

Position: Whangarei, Northland, New Zealand

Captain Bonzo here with an update from Ari B! For those of you who don’t know me, I am the Captain of Ari B, a multitalented stuffed dog, that speaks 5 languages, has sailed half way round the world and barks orders. I also write the newsletters for Alex and Carla.

When I last wrote to you in September 2021, we were planning to leave Fiji in November and head to New Zealand for our planned refit.

Well, as you can see, we made it to NZ..... apologies for the big gap since the last update – it’s been busy!!

We really loved Fiji – people, food, under and over water terrain amazing. Spending time with local people, learning new cultures and tasting local food – This is why we travel. We celebrated Fiji day in Viani Bay and planted coral on the coral farm (hosted by Jone & Marina of the Dive Academy diveacademyfiji.com– highly recommended), collected clams with the kids in Buca Bay, and swam with manta rays in Rabi and managed to photograph two mantas that were not known to the Manta Trust so we got to name them. It was Louise’s birthday (Carla’s sister) at that time so we named one of the mantas after her and the second after Gem, the beloved patterdale terrier of our friends Tim and Gayle who passed away last year. We hiked through swamps, caught mud crabs and drank kava with Eddie in Naqaiqai Creek and then were welcomed into the home of Solo and his family for not one but two fabulous family days with amazing food that Carla helped prepare made from all local and wild produce. The team were adopted into a Fijian family which made it hard for them to leave for NZ.

But before we knew it, it was time to go and set sail in early November. I decided to take weather routing advice for the first time, not that I don’t trust the knowledge of my crew but the trip to NZ is quite difficult to plan due to the transition from tropical trade wind systems to more temperate climates. In addition, the Covid issue meant that an 8 day trip had to be extended to 12 days to avoid very costly quarantine complications on arrival. As it panned out, the rules changed as we were at sea and we arrived after 10 days – with lots of motoring, but without any dramas or breakages.

Arrival in Opua at 11 at night was easy, and the clearance procedure, including Covid tests took 2 days, while the crew was isolating on the Q pontoon, without the ability to set a foot ashore. Grmpff.

Eventually, we were cleared to go ashore, and the crew was immediately off for a hike to work those legs after being onboard for 12 days of so. NZ felt a little strange, with shops having everything you could want and people we could easily talk to - and they are all very friendly!!

The crew decided to stay in the bay of islands for a few days to chill out, but soon displayed itchy feet to get to Whangarei for the haul out and start of the massive work list to commence, so by early December we arrived for our haul out and Ari B was on the dry for the first time since Colombia over 3 years earlier. Arriving in NZ was like setting up a new life for the crew. Transport was needed, so a car was purchased, insurance needed, phone contracts arranged, health insurance, doctors booked and so on and so on.

Unfortunately, the experts at the boatyard identified a pretty severe case of osmosis on our hull, which is not uncommon for older boats, but was disappointing as we had completed an anti osmosis treatment in the UK before we set off. Further investigation revealed issues with the work that had been done in the UK, and since the repairs are very costly, our lawyer is looking after our interests right now. Wish us luck.

As a result of the findings, a whole raft of new jobs appeared on the to do list, and the team was going backwards instead of forward, the list getting longer, the jobs uglier, the costs higher and the mood was taking a beating as a result. And if you have never lived on a boat on land, let me tell you that the act of climbing the 4 meter ladder 20 times a day would add up to an Everest climb every couple of months or so and gets tiresome real quick.. Never mention the lack of toilet use onboard etc etc.

Alex’s tennis elbow had reappeared too while in Fiji, so every move hurt and the team was feeling sorry for themselves.

In January 2022, the boat issues paled into insignificance as Alex’s father unexpectedly passed away, only to be followed by his mother in March. When it rains it pours. RIP Dieter and Marga.

So, while NZ can be a wonderful place to be, the team didn’t have the time or the inclination to spend time on the road, but concentrated on boat work. It wasn’t all work and gloom though. They did take a short break to Lake Taupo area to do the Tongariro Crossing day hike which is considered by many to be the best day hike in NZ. It didn’t disappoint and the weather was perfect but the legs were very tired after the 1100m vertical descent in the afternoon. ‘A short walk to loosen the muscles is what we need’ says Carla the next day. Her ‘short’ walk ended up being a 5km lake walk followed by a 6km river walk collecting blackberries and mushrooms! Alex was not amused. On the way back from Lake Taupo the crew stopped in Tauranga to catch up with Thierry, a friend that they hadn’t seen since they were working together in the Maldives over 20 years ago. They had a great time catching up and meeting his adorable kids.

The team are currently living in a house in Whangarei whilst I am left onboard to look after things. Carla responded to an advertisement for a house sitter in December and they quickly became good friends with Christine & Bob who are the house owners, and their pet dog Matilda, 3 cats and 6 goats. Initially the crew spent a couple of days a week at the house, Carla and Christine having cook offs - waist lines expanding - and then when the boat went into the shed Christine and Bob kindly offered for them to live at the house. It is perfect as the crew have somewhere to live and Christine and Bob can go away for trips whenever they want. A match made in heaven as Christine says.

The osmosis repairs are expected to be completed by the end of May and the crew is hoping to visit Europe this summer, while the weather here in NZ turns for the worse.

Let’s see what the next few weeks bring to the table.

We’ll give you an update later this summer.

Ari B out

Meet Louise