Fire sparks bed appeal?

The crew of the Maggie B is settling in well in New Zealand. We are already finding favorite restaurants, laundromats, bookstores, cafes, and bars. The Nelson marina has more interesting boats than anywhere we have been, with the exception of Antigua during Classic Race Week. New photos should be up on the web by tomorrow.

We are in the midst of the usual series of little fixes, adjustments and preventative work. Owen and Theresa are making new pendants for the main sheet attachment to the boom, Bori and Hannah are re-sewing a protective strip on the mainsail batten pockets. We have taken “Strika,” the kayak, to get a nose fitting so we can tie her up alongside. The boat cover for the Reep is getting patched. Our “T-joint” for the dual oil pressure sensors is getting replaced by something more permanent (the Mauritian one failed after two months). Our new steering compass is getting swung tomorrow. Theresa finally found a pesky leak in the vent for the diesel space heater. Tomorrow I overhaul the toilet (whee!).

Nelson is the biggest commercial fishing port in the Southern Hemisphere (they say). There is absolutely every marine-related service organization right nearby. They have successfully come to specialize in integrated refits for commercial and pleasure craft.

New Zealand is very enlightened in many areas. One amusing area is that they have legalized prostitution and made it subject to “standard workplace regulation.” We don’t know nor will we find out just what that means. We did see yesterday one of the most marvelous articles in the local Nelson paper. The headline is “Fire sparks bed appeal.” It goes on to say: “A Napier brothel is soliciting donations of old beds so that it can resume operations after a fire….’Club 100 has been giving out to Hawkes Bay for more than 25 years, now it is time for Hawkes Bay to give back to Club 100′, said manager Paul Hale.”

All is well.