Just Nigel and I. John Welsford came out that evening just for the one night. He had a blissful 'night sail' in the Noelex. Winds were fickle for the most part, except this leg. Good boatspeed and easy helming for well over an hour. Nigel had a ball on land. My Achilles Tendon handled the boat and almost 8km of the Tarawera Trail very well - considering. This was week 25 after the injury last August. 95% back to normal. Yay!!!

New tent (ORSON RAIDER XL1) at Lake Arapuni, in the Arohena Camping area on the Waikato River. Only 30 mins from home. Unfortunately there was an algal bloom in full force, so the fish were either very deep or had transferred upstream to the flowing (nicer, cleaner, cooler) water of the Waikato River. They weren't biting. The algae smells significantly which is off-putting. But it was not toxic, here, it just looks like SOUP!! People were swimming and skiing/boarding behind boats, as far as I know - NOBODY DIE! New tent is FANTASTIC! Just 1.75kg with an extra Tyvek groundsheet, so it's easily hikeable, has nice features and is well thought out. Very HAPPY with it. Its also polyester - heavier than nylon, but doesn't absorb as much water and won't sag or pucker like nylon, when wet. Important for multi day hikes! Took the MAC boat out on the lake a few times - early mornings and an evening run. No fish brought home tho' :{ Nigel had a ball - he really likes it there. Lots of pheasants in the native trees, to stalk.

Yet another night on Lake Tarawera this week. 6.30pm and 8 degrees C with temp expected to get down to 3 overnite. It did. Bacon, Eggs, Hash Browns and Baked Beans for dinner, with Peaches and Yoghurt for dessert. All washed down with a beer and a glass of red. All very civilised! I used the trusty Trangia as well as the little gas Hikers Stove as there were 4x foods needing cooking/heating. Nige had his share of course.

Vid of Alan Hooper's Welsford NAVIGATOR design sailboat, from Grace my TREAD LIGHTLY. Coming out of Boat Harbour on the way to Kinloch in Taupo.- March 2023.

Alan Hooper filmed Grace (from his Welsford NAVIGATOR design) leaving Cherry Bay under motor, but sporting her new mizzen, on Lake Taupo this week.

Feb 2023 with a nice 10 knts breeze, trying to catch JW in his Noelex 20. We spent 3x days (2 nights) sailing on the lake. I took Nigel for the ride.

Nigel resting up after a busy day at the Lake. This was our 3rd night aboard GRACE on the lake

The interior is finished although theres some exterior finishing and painting to be done. But we're here! We shifted in and spent the first night here lasdt week. Still unpacking and sorting stuff, But, we're in!! Woop. Woop!

The evening meal aboard GRACE, cooked on the Trangia (meths) cooker. Boat Harbour is a natural little bay, very sheltered to everything but SE wind/waves. At times I've seen 15-20 boats stacked up in there.

.

I took the tent and the TRANGIA MINI cooker in the MAC 3.6m boat to meet up with Ralf and Christiane (in their Welsford design PENGUIN trailer yacht. It was the boats 10th birthday. I camped ashore for the night at the Rotomahana Jetty - in front of the old shelter. Hotcakes, coffee and porridge for breakfast at 7am - cooked on the baby Trangia. Ralf brought along his CLC Eastport Praam dinghy - 'Korora'. It splits in half! He built both boats himself. A Very pleasant 36 hours!

A quick walk thru of our little lake house in the making.. Plastering starts tomorrow and all being well - painting next week.

At night on Lake Tarawera NZ in September 2022. Temp expected to drop to -3 celsius (it actually got to -1 degree inside the cabin!).

Some observations on a chilly 'Spring' evening in the sailboat. Just me - No Nigel this time.

Lake Rotoiti - Feb 2022

I decided to head to the lake and stay over on the night before the Woodenboats Parade this year. I found a lovely little spot and had a very comfortable night.

Gail and I took the MAC up the lake and up the Waikato to almost the Whakamaru Dam. It took a few seconds from still to get on the plane, but the little 15hp performed really well. I guess with fuel and fishing gear and lunch etc - we had 250kg aboard + 200Kg boat and motor. Top speed 35 kmh.

Drone footage from Ralf Schlothauer after the Tarawera Tootle 2. Grace is a 'balanced Lugsail' rigged trailer sailer with twin rudders and 150kg of ballast weight midships. She took approx 2 1/2 years to build - weekends and a few hours each week after work.

Tootling around near the Wairua Stream, Nov 2020. 1.8m Welsford 'Scraps' dinghy - FREDA. She undoes in the middle to easily transport her in the station wagon, Jeep, or in the bigger boat.

Grace and Lucia doing a "slow dance" in 5 knts (with 10-12knts gusts) breeze on the Lake on the last morning of the Tarawera Tootle Two - November 2020.