After 232 days on the hard, Sabado is back where she belongs: afloat!

We wrapped up all our projects and splashed last Tuesday, then motored around the corner to the service dock to test everything out. Since then, we’ve run our new generator and AC units, put on our boom, jib and new mainsail, and cleaned, cleaned, cleaned. We finally removed the cardboard we had taped down to protect the floors, washed our cockpit upholstery, and scrubbed our neglected and abused teak. Both toilets work, and our bilges are dry. Sabado seems happy, and so are we!

Ray and I love our new cabin setup. Making the bed is infinitely easier now. I can sit on the grey bumper cushions on either side and lift the one-piece, standard-shaped mattress. What a luxury! Our sheets fit better, and we got all new pillows, including one specifically for side sleepers that made the shoulder pain I’ve had for nearly two years practically disappear. After seeing the effects of chronic sleep deprivation last year, we really wanted to prioritize better rest. This lifestyle can be demanding, and when you’re exhausted, the seemingly constant challenges can become difficult to manage. Along with several recent safety upgrades, including a new anchor, 100 meters of chain, and a full boat monitoring system, the new mattress, sheets, and pillows were the icing on the cake. 

Things are coming together, and we’re feeling good about the changes we’ve made. Of course, we did not get to this point without frustrations and delays. Despite being the most developed place we’ve been for years, New Zealand is still a small island, which comes with challenges when sourcing parts and labor. At the last minute, we had to DIY some projects we simply could not find a professional to handle, and tracking down supplies was both time-consuming and expensive. For example, just the other day we spent half of the day driving around, visiting every store we could think of in search of a clevis pin, a common and inexpensive part readily available throughout the USA and Caribbean. In the end, we had to get one custom-made at the local machine shop. 

If we could go back in time, we would have started this refit with more realistic expectations. While there are plenty of specialty stores and highly skilled tradespeople here, that does not necessarily mean they will have the exact part you need or be able to fit you into their schedule. And being in a closed yard with an assigned project manager does not excuse you from the responsibility of coordinating workers and following up on things yourself. 

Anyway, we’ve adjusted back to boat life just fine. We thoroughly enjoyed our rental house in Waipu, but Sabado feels like home. We’ve been sporadically filming, which is so fun. I’ve missed re-living our days while editing footage, but I’ve yet to conjure up enough free time to publish something coherent on YouTube. It’s been much easier to post updates on Facebook and Instagram lately, so be sure to check us out over there. Any down time we’ve had has been spent checking the weather, organizing provisions and studying up on the check out procedure for NZ/check in procedure for Fiji. 

Like New Zealand, the islands we plan to visit this season have strict food regulations. Honey is prohibited, fresh fruit and vegetables may be confiscated, and pork products are absolutely not allowed. Other meat is permitted, but only if it remains in its original “Product of NZ” packaging. Keeping meat in the bulky plastic grocery store trays would drastically reduce the amount we can fit in our freezer, so I placed an order with a local butcher who is very familiar with provisioning for boats. They’re vacuum sealing our requested portions with the appropriate labels attached. We’ll pick up the order tomorrow morning. I’ll prepare a few meals for our passage and leave the rest packaged as is. 

Our visa expiration date is just around the corner, so we’re hoping to take the first decent weather window that comes our way. After our treacherous trip here last year, we’re happy to wait for the right conditions. There is nothing we’re considering in the current forecast. At the moment, we’re waiting to sort out a few things before leaving the dock:

1. We want to top up our fuel tanks. Although things seem to be improving, we’re still unsure what fuel availability will look like in the islands this season. Unfortunately, none of the fuel docks here accept our US cards, so we may end up making a few trips to the gas station with our jerry cans.
2. We’re struggling to sell our car. With fuel prices so high here, there isn’t much demand for our Volkswagen Tiguan because everyone wants a hybrid. We’ve had a few offers from locals willing to look after it if we need to list it and leave, but we hate the idea of passing that responsibility onto someone else.
3. When North Sails came to collect our old mainsail, we also gave them our gennaker to see if it could be saved from some pretty extensive sun damage. Somewhere in the process of making our brand new main, it seems the gennaker was forgotten about, and now it’s too late to figure out a solution. However, there was some valuable hardware attached to it that we’d still like to salvage. They’re sending someone up from Auckland on Tuesday to deliver the parts to us.

That’s all I have to report, folks! Life is good, but it is busy and COLD! We’re thrilled to be in the water again, but we’re eager to get back out there. Crew and VIP members: keep an eye out for an upcoming post of the vendors/contractors we used and our honest reviews. Thanks for following along! 🙂