Home at last

At home in the driveway with Kaipuke in the background. The trip meter reads 1,371 kms.

Now where do I store it ? And this mast is only 11.5 metres. The main is due any day now and is 17 metres long.

Car Ferry

Almost home. I've killed some time in Whangarei, and had a leisurely trip from there to Opua. It's still only 4:30pm, a couple of hours until high tide. But the angle looks good and I get on and off with no problems.
Being a local, and regular user of the ferry, I get charged for a "standard" trailer, even though it's almost three times longer than it used to be.

Whangarei

By the time I get to Whangarei I need to refuel. There is a Gull service station with it's own off-ramp from the highway. Very convenient when you have a long load.

Right next door is Bunnings warehouse. And a bloke can't let the big jobs get in the way of a bit of shopping (eh Ralph !). Besides, I'm now running ahead of schedule. I need to plan on getting on the car ferry at something close to high tide if I'm going to avoid any problems with the angle of the ferry ramp. High tide today is 6:23pm.

Homeward bound

I have a bit of a lie in today, leaving at 4:30am from Napier.
In the photo I am parked outside the Matamata public toilets. Partly because I know there is parallel parking here, and partly because I have other business to transact. It is 8 o'clock Saturday morning. I go for a walk and find some coffee and breakfast.

Off to Napier

Friday 30th October 2:45am - I leave for Napier, taking the back road around the Waikare inlet (because the first car ferry doesn't leave until 6:40am). Getting away early means I am through Auckland by about 6:30am and don't get tangled up in traffic. I am in Matamata for a bit of breakfast and coffee by 8am.
I have a dream run and am in Napier a little before midday.
I was a bit surprised to see the mast still on the boat, and the boat still on the marina. The weather is cold with frequent icy rain squalls blowing across the marina. Over a very welcome hot cup of tea, Anne & Harvey (boat owners) explain that a friend will be along shortly to remove the mast.
Enter John ! Probably best described as an entrepreneurial marine DIY'er. After a bit of head scratching, a few extra lines, a couple of winches, some naval gazing, a couple of halyards from the main mast, and a couple of hours work and the mizzen is lying on the marina beside the boat. Effectively the main mast has been used as a mast gantry for the mizzen. A very useful exercise for future reference.
In the photo the mast is loaded up on ute and trailer and is parked at "Bay View Snapper Holiday Park". The operators of the park were very accommodating. I had explained on the phone, a couple of days earlier, that I would have a long load and not particularly manouverable. For the cost of my cabin overnight they had also reserved two campervan sites, to park the ute, in a position that gave me easy egress in the morning.
By this stage I'm a bit knackered and am in bed before 8pm.