Location: 40° 51 S, 173° 50.4 E
Sunday 12:00, 05.20.2007

The Schooner Maggie B is moored safely in Mill Arm, Greville Harbour, D’Urville Island, Marlborough Sound. We are at 40° 51S, 173° 50.4E, on a Tasman Cruising Club three ton mooring. We are happy to be on a mooring because they are calling for a proper storm outside, with wind to 50 knots. We are getting occasional gusts to 30 knots from one direction and then another, as the wind bounces off the high hills all around us.

The clouds are streaming by overhead, working their way down the hills. We will probably be pretty closed in by tonight with rain and more wind. Tomorrow we may work our way around the corner more into the middle of Marlborough Sound, or we may just hide out here and start a Marathon Team Scrabble game.

Earlier I mentioned the endless complications that every country seems to impose when you try to get back GST/VAT taxes. New Zealand has a system that recognizes Ships in Transit, so that you can avoid paying the taxes to begin with. It Works! Purchasing major items for the Maggie B can easily be done without the 12% GST sometimes just by saying you are In Transit, sometimes by showing the Customs Form and your passport. What a pleasure! I suppose that it helps that the Kiwi’s current tax problem is that they have huge surpluses and are mostly arguing over how to spend them. But in any case I’m wearing my All Blacks Rugby shirt in appreciation.

Nelson, and, I suspect, every major NZ port, is very well set up for boat refits. We used a great outfit called Dickson Marine for two projects, and they were quick, accurate and reasonable. The stainless steel forming shop was just down the street, “Boat Bits” and three other ship chandleries were within three blocks, hydraulic specialist around the corner, etc.

All is well.