Tag: boatlife
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My first time with the ocean
Like all first times, perhaps, it lacked foreplay. We rushed it a bit and went straight to the meaty part, too eager to know what “it” was about. I was giving myself willingly, for I knew beforehand that it would be painful, with a rough couple of days in the weather window and route we […]
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Obelix shower ceremony
Hot showers are now possible on Obelix! But, beware, far from a modern life entitlement, taking a hot shower on our boat is a well deserved reward that comes only after following a precise protocol, involving lots of steps, and a fair amount of pumping, which has, let it be said, the side benefits of […]
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Making our bubble great again
Free-range kids As lock-down 2.0 was announced on August 13th, Auckland schools closed, and we retreated back to our bubbles, we decided not to add any complexity to the ever changing and (sometimes) absurd rules that governed our strange world, and let our children be free-range. No virtual hui. No homework. No schedule. No pressure. […]
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Serendipity galore
Family impressions (part 2/2) And what about us, the parents? What is our take on this new lifestyle? Thomas He’s a natural, he’s been drawn to the sea his whole life, so, one might say he’s like a fish in the water! Being on a boat, stepping on the floating deck each morning, looking at […]
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Floor is lava in 3, 2, 1, 0!
Family impressions (part 1/2) One month in. Time to reflect: How is the family rating their new life aboard?To get a qualitative answer to this, I asked each one of us to come up with our top likes and dislikes. The first answer I got from Azur, was “But there is nothing that I don’t […]
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Magic moments in Kawau
Initially, our ambitious plans for the Labour week-end was to go to Great Barrier Island… Thomas had even taken his Friday off to give us four full days of adventures. However, our religiously watching the weather situation the week leading up to our mini-holidays, did nothing to slow down the wind, which was still howling […]
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Happy Bday Obelix!
At 8 am on Sunday the 13th, at high tide, after a full-moon night, our dear friend Naomi rocked up all dressed up with orchids and hibiscus flowers around her neck and arms ready to lead Obelix’ blessing ceremony. We showed her and Dave around, had a quick chat, and finished to prepare ourselves. Our […]
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Bye-bye St Heliers!
Last week-end was one of transition, endings and new beginnings. Marcia and Camille, neighbours and friends, took the kids for a sleepover on Friday so we could have the night off and release a bit of the pressure accumulated over the past few weeks. Watching The Dust Palace and the APO’s epic production ‘Dawn’, then […]
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Spring cleaning in progress for imminent downsizing…
Obelix may be a fat bastard, but there is no way we could fit all the stuff we’ve accumulated over the years (and that will mainly have lived through the time of their negotiation*) on board. Nor is it our intention to keep things for later, when we decide to return to landbound life. Indeed […]
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Celebrating Obelix first times
With a Margaux, Château Marquis De Terme, which was waiting all those years for the right occasion… First cruise on Obelix as a family, just the four of us, for the pleasure. First time without having to go all the way to the marina toilets to pooh. First time communicating on the VHF with another […]
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Obelix now in Bayswater!!!
Two months after patiently checking the weather forecast every day on various websites, Thomas has finally spotted a fine weather window last week, quickly gathered a crew, found someone to drive them to Whangarei, and organised everything to attempt the voyage for the second time last Saturday 17 August. As a cautious skipper, he minimised […]
Obelix Odyssey 