End of Chapter 2

Well, after nearly three weeks in New Zealand, we are now legal. The boat has been officially imported, duty and taxes paid, and we have a permanent berth in Opua. The money from Canada is here, the debts are paid and we are looking for jobs. The second chapter of “The Adventures of the Good Ship Tarun” can now be closed. We have done a number of repairs and maintenance jobs in the past couple of weeks, namely resealing fittings to stop leaks. It’s amazing how much you find out about your boat when you sail hard to weather for a few days straight. We have sold the Monitor Wind Steering system as we don’t need it for sailing around New Zealand and are in the process of sorting out the re-wiring of the boat for 240 volt shore power.

Other than that, we have been having fun dealing with Canadian Financial Institutions, trying to sort out credit cards, addresses, etc. We think it’s all done but not sure yet. Cathy had her visa card cancelled without notice after having it for over 24 years. Maybe an hour on the phone this morning has probably fixed it. It’s amazing that banks will drop a customer in good standing simply because the card has not been used for a period of time. I guess the banks are more interested in the people who have lots of debt and pay the banks lots of interest. It really brasses me off that those of us who manage our money to avoid debt are penalized by the banks. Other than starting our own bank, we can’t really do much about it except spend time on the phone with ineffectual, so called, “customer” service reps who are trained to say “NO” over one hundred different ways. Every once in awhile you find a person who can actually help you and when you do, please say a big thank you for yourself and all the other long suffering people who deal with telephone support in all it’s guises.

On a brighter note, I am including a couple of sets of lyrics to songs that I rewrote while under passage.

NOTE: The author is NOT responsible for any throwing of fruit, veggies, etc due to the public performance of any of these songs

Tarun, The Ketch Song

(sung to the music of Sundown by Gordon Lightfoot)

I can see her sitting there with her sails a mess

You can see she’s a ship in need of much redress

Sailor, you better take care or you’ll spend all your money making her real fair

Sailor, you better take care or you’ll spend all your money making her real fair

She’s a tough old ketch with a heart of gold

But you don’t really know what the bilges hold

Sometimes I think it’s a shame when I get feeling better when I’m sailing again

Sometimes I think it’s a shame when I get feeling better when I’m sailing again

I can hear every groan that her spares will make

I can see every wave that her bow will break

Sometimes I think it’s a sin when I get feeling better when I sail hard to wind

Sometimes I think it’s a shame when I get feeling better when I’m sailing again

Canadian Farewell

(sung to the music of Jamaican Farewell)

In Sidney town where the old folks frown

And the sun shines sometimes when it’s not raining

I took a trip on a sailing ship

And when I reached New Zealand I made a stop

Chorus

But I’m sad to say, I’m on my way

Won’t be back to Canada eh

My heart is down, my boat is spinning around

I had to leave our rusty bikes in Sidney town

From Halifax to Vancouver

Canadians cry out no more winter

Icy roads and heavy snow

But the beer is better than Mexico

In Alberta they burn the oil

In Newfoundland they fish for cod

In Toronto they make the cash

But on the BC coast we sail and laugh