We have been in Whangarei for nine days now. My No Foreign Land app keeps messaging me that the boat hasn’t moved in 9 days like they are surprised too that we are finally stationary!! We have had a good and productive first week in Whangarei!
Our first weekend here was well timed to be able to experience the first Canopy Night of the season and the monthly Artisans Market. Canopy Night is an event with food vendors and music in the park that is right next to where we are docked. It was a super fun night with lots of families and of course, 80’s music! The trend continues! We had yummy dosas and some caramel corn for dessert! The Artisans Market was held the next day on Saturday in the same location. This market showcases local artisans from the Northland area. It was a pretty wide variety of items but I think my favorites were some knitting items, sweaters, hats, and adorable baby clothes! Some of the outdoor art items were really cool too! On Sunday, we decided to take a walk and not planning to go too far but the trails here are amazing so we ended up doing about seven miles! We hiked up to the Mount Parihaka overlook and back down again. The trail was beautiful with lots of greenery, creeks, and a beautiful waterfall but also LOTS of steps! We are really in a prime location for some great hiking trails and look forward to continuing to explore more of them.
This week brought some focused work on the boat, lots of walking to get supplies for the focused work on the boat, dental visits, haircuts, and a bit of swearing – not in that particular order 🙂 We began the prep to leave Meraviglia so we met with Helen from Whangarei Yacht Support who will be looking after her while we are gone. Helen was lovely to chat with and so helpful with her local knowledge. We know Meraviglia will be in good hands while we are gone. Helen was able to connect us with a local welder who will be helping us with the repair to our bow roller so we could focus on the foredeck repair work.
To begin the repair process we first needed to empty the anchor locker by removing all of the anchor chain to our deck. 300 feet of anchor chain. By hand. Fun times. We also needed to take our Rocna anchor off and store that as well. Once the chain locker was empty, we moved inside to empty the v berth cabin as that is how we access the anchor locker from inside. So we are back to living in a bit of chaos until the project is complete. It definitely is giving me flashbacks to the refit days in Brunswick with Drew and Daniel!! The original plan was to purchase an item called G10 which is basically a large sheet of fiberglass. However, it was going to need to be shipped from Auckland and the cost was quite a lot so we decided to build our own. But before we began building, we needed to get the space in the anchor locker prepped which included removing the existing rotten wood that was under the windlass and replacing it with 16 layers of fiberglass. Let’s just say it was a bit messy as I had to wet the pieces down outside the anchor locker and then pass them to Bob who had to install them over his head in a very cramped space. We then needed to work on the big piece that would be equivalent to the piece of G10. We originally thought we might be able to do it in place but we quickly realized that we instead would need to build it out on the dock. 22 layers later, lots of resin, a return trip to the chandlery for more supplies, and some very tired arms -it was finally complete. We let it cure and then proceeded to dry fit it to the space. Unfortunately, the camber of the deck meant we needed to do some additional work to the piece. So we added 36 more layers in the middle of the piece to adjust for the camber. Once set, it was time to try and install it. This is where the swearing really began! We had to mix and apply the resin to the piece in the v berth and then Bob needed to go inside the anchor locker while I handed the piece to him. This piece was VERY heavy. Once Bob had it in place, I ran up to the foredeck to try and put the bolts in from above so he could secure the piece from below. I am sure I gave the neighbors a show when we ran into trouble and had to switch to different bolts in the middle of the process. Boat projects have definitely expanded my vocabulary!!! We had dry fit the piece but due to the resin setting quicker than anticipated the bolt length changed slightly and we had to adjust the plan on the fly. We finally got it secured and began cleaning up and praying that it would set correctly and work as hoped. We are still mid project so will need to update on the outcome next time! Fingers crossed!
I have been loving the overall vibe and environment here so far. On my morning walks I love seeing people of all ages and abilities taking advantage of the beautiful river loop trail. Runners, bikers, parents with babies, people with walkers, canes, and wheelchairs, and LOTS of dogs! There is art along the path as well as beautiful parks, exercise stations, and phenomenal playgrounds! The playgrounds are even very inclusive with wheelchair accessibility and communication boards in place. They also have a law that helmets are required for all ages for bikers, skateboarders, scooters etc… so the health care part of me is very happy to see that! Everyone is so friendly and says hello which I love!
We hope to finish projects this week and may be ready to explore more of the country next week. We have our return flight back to the states booked for December 4th so still a good amount of time to take a road trip to Hobbiton!! More to come!
November 3, 2025 at 12:16 pm
Oh, MY!! The further adventures of Kim and Bob. That repair sounded especially challenging…..glad you were able to complete it successfully.