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| Christchurch's Historic Cathedral |
First Christchurch and now Japan. The horrific scenes of the devastation caused by these earthquakes, followed by Japan’s tsunami, have got to be some of the most horrible footage I’ve seen in my life. Christchurch is still reeling under the shock of the destruction and deaths and now Japan –whole towns literally wiped out. How does anyone ever recover from that?
We were given radio warnings throughout the night of the approaching tsunami but, as we are tucked away in a deep set bay with many islands around, we were very safe. The currents did play up tremendously which we were told were as a result of the tidal wave but, fortunately, no ill effects at all.
After having stopped at so many of the Pacific islands throughout 2010, we can’t help but be concerned as to how they have been affected by this. We had visited the northern Tongaan group of islands anchoring at Niuatapotapu which, a year earlier, had been devastated by a tsunami. It was a heartbreaking scene and the people were still trying to recover from the loss of life and homes. Most of these islands are very low lying giving the residents little chance of fleeing to higher ground. We can only hope that they have managed to escape the worst.
We’ve now been in New Zealand for just over three months now and, sadly, it doesn’t look as though we’ll be able to tour the country as we’d hoped. The deck work has proven to be a major job but is progressing well and should look fabulous upon completion. With this and the fact that we’ve had to order a new headsail along with the purchase of a new (second hand) windlass, new inverter, etc etc, funds are simply insufficient to spread as far as those items which we have, right now, to consider frivolous.
We’re in two minds as to how we’re going to handle the upcoming cruising season. Do we head north back to the Tonga/Fiji/Vanuatu region before sailing towards Australia, or do we return here to New Zealand in the hopes that we can get to see some of the countryside? Another option is to leave here, head northwards and stay further north out of the cyclone belt, thereby missing out on Australia altogether. Decisions, decisions. We’ll have to make up our minds before too long.
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| Starting the Primer/Undercoat |
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| Undercoat completed |
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| Masking off |
Meanwhile, we’re living in absolute chaos aboard Calypso but, hopefully, that will soon come to an end and she’ll look all the better for it. We’re busy masking off the deck preparing it for the gloss paint which will be followed by more masking before applying the non-skid paint. After that, all the deck fittings will have to be placed back in position and the internal head linings, etc. reinstated somehow. Jobs like the sanding and varnishing of all the woodwork will simply have to wait for another day (year). In truth, our troubles aboard seem insignificant when seeing the present global problems.
Right now, I’ve got half a dozen ducks calling me for their lunch which is a regular habit around these waters. Sometimes we have as many as twelve. It’s no wonder that Paul questions where all the bread goes every day! They’re just too cute though. We get called out of bed in the early mornings and they even follow us in the dinghy back to the boat to make sure they get fed. If nothing else, we get plenty of entertainment value from our feathered friends.
Scenes around Christchurch after 22/02/11 earthquake
(courtesy of NZ Herald)
