We went for fuel last week on Thursday and our shopping around led us to the Russell pumps as the best deal. We've had to re-mortgage the boat to buy fuel here as it is sooooo expensive. Anyway, the Russell pumps are on a high wharf that is in 9 feet of water, we draw 7' so have to be there for high tide so we don't "ground" the boat. So there we are bouncing up and down in the swell, rubbing against this big wooden wharf on our oversized (washing machine size) rubber balls (fenders), taking on fuel in 562.23 liter increments because that's how the pumps work. We punch in the card and pump the allotted fuel 9 times when the pump decides to go "off line" (they went off line in Pahia across the bay too). Did I mention that it is raining cats and dogs? Well it is! We aren't done fueling (we need 6 more of those transactions), but the pump isn't cooperating any more so we have to leave. Oh! What's this? Here we are with our nose almost on the beach in very shallow water with a passenger ferry tied up behind us and our stern thruster will not work! Why now? How the heck are we going to get out of here? With Captain Glen at the helm we managed and we didn't even take out the ferry. As we cross the bay to the Opua marina we brain storm as to how we are going to get back into our slip between the pilings and the dock with 6 inches to spare on either side of the boat with the wind now storm force and no rear thruster. Short answer, we can't. We anchor the boat in the bay and Glen dives to see if we have rope wrapped around the propeller blades - that would have been the easy fix. By this time it is dark, raining - no - pouring, the wind is gusting 40 knots and there are white caps on the water, we settle in for the night with dinner and a movie. A windy night at anchor can provide it's own entertainment though as you watch sail boats dragging by on their anchors and sometimes you have to fend them off of your own boat as they scramble in the darkness to get their gear hauled in so they can re-position and re-anchor (hopefully well away from you on the other side of the bay). In the morning we put down the dingy and headed to shore, Abbie and I to drive to pick John up from the airport and Glen to pick up mechanics to fix the boat. Even now, the thruster is not fixed but after much trouble shooting we know what the problem is and the part should be waiting for us in Fiji. Later in the day with John on board and a bunch of people on the dock, we played bumper boat and got back into our slip at the marina with no great mishaps. A very good thing too that we got back on the inside as the storm really got going with winds gusting 60 knots - not very nice at all. Welcome to New Zealand John!
Finally we tracked down a Catholic Church having Mass on Sunday, it was in Russell - across the bay from Opua. No we didn't take our boat. We drove the rental car to the car ferry and 10 minutes later we were in Russell. The Church of St. Peter Chanel, the patron Saint of the Pacific. And as timely as we sometimes are, the past week was his celebration and there are commemorative cookies - the Priest gave us some - quite fitting to have St. Peter Chanel with us on the boat. Anyway, it is a cute little church, key word being little. There are seven of us gathered for Mass. Go figure, they always ask the new people if they can do a reading - Glen volunteered me! (how'd they know we were new people anyway?) Yikes! No choir, we have to help sing the hymns (bet the regulars wish the new people didn't come - they(we) can't sing!) All fun aside it was a great experience.
Now, I'd better get back to my "night shift". Only 5 more days to go!
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