#95 NOW March 18, 2006 0900UTC +13 hours (New Zealand Daylight Time) Anchored in Robinsons Bay S4346.1 E17257.2 Temp 60, Wind All over the place! Good Morning, My overnight run from Oamaru was interrupted by a very solemn event. I had a burial at sea. My Mongoose finally succumbed to the elements. Just as the sun was poking its head above the horizon, I stopped the boat and committed my Mongoose Mountain Bike to the deep. For all you environmentalists, I did remove all plastic reflectors, and being in international waters, watched it rapidly sink. It was so rusty that the chain had fallen off and bits of rust would fall on my deck if I moved it. It had seen better days and I had gotten a lot of use out of it. During the night, I ran into large kelp beds, which fouled my para-vanes. Twice I had to stop the boat, bring the vanes in, and cut off the tangled mass. Fortunately, the seas were not too rough and a big serrated bread knife does a quick job of it. By 10:45, I was rounding the bold cliffs of Timutimu Head and entering Akaroa Harbour. This is one of the prettiest places I have encountered on my sojourn. Akaroa Harbour is actually a ten-mile long inlet on the Banks Peninsula just south of Christchurch. In fact, the inlet almost cuts the Peninsula in half. The steep green hills on either side, covered with grazing sheep make for a very peaceful pastoral scene. I pulled into French Bay, which is where the actual town of Akaroa is located. Dropping the anchor a hundred yards from the pier, I turned in for a couple of hours of sleep. Later I got the kayak out and paddled into town. This is very definitely a tourist resort with B&Bs everywhere and some very good restaurants. I found a library with some computers and an internet connection. Later I stocked up on some food at a little grocery store. Last Thursday morning, I pulled up anchor, went over to the pier, and filled the tanks with water. Then I headed further up this lovely inlet to Robinsons Bay. Once again, I found a lovely peaceful setting. Dropping the anchor, I set to work giving the boat a much needed cleaning. Twice a day I run the genset to charge the batteries and to do another load of wash. My little Splendide 2000 washer/dryer is small, but does a great job, and has been trouble free. A real luxury that makes that chore so much easier. I must make a quick correction to one of my old NOWs. I may have misled some of you in thinking that on the leg from Hobart to Bluff that the Quarantine flag was up for ten days. Actually, it took us about six days to reach the southwest end of New Zealand. Then due to weather, we sought shelter in Welcome and Cuddle coves. Once reaching this area we put up the quarantine flag and did not clear customs until reaching Bluff four days later. Thus, we were unable to get off the boat for a total of ten days from Hobart to Bluff. The weather looks good for tomorrow to take the short run of about 40 miles around the Peninsula to Christchurch. This brings me up to date, and I can now get back to doing what I enjoy mostcruising! Have a great weekend! Life is a Cruise, Larry -- Larry Rick Done Dreamin' Nordhavn 40 #33 Site: http://gricknet.homedns.org/Dads%20Web/doneDreamnHome.htm