Day 24 – Feb 23 – Sunday – A day spent sailing
We have been waiting for the right day to go sailing, from Auckland – windy, but not too windy, no rain. Today is the day.
After breakfast in Devonport we caught the ferry to Auckland and made our way to the dock area. After booking our reservation for the sailing tour, we decided to kill some time in the area and wound up at a Mexican Restaurant and ordered some nachos.
Nachos Kiwi Style
Eventually it was time to board the sail boat, which we did with a group of a dozen French Canadians, so the safety instructions (which basically consisted of “dont fall off the boat”) had to be translated into French.
Here is our boat (not the Zodiac), one of two identical sailboats used for these tours.
We loaded up and motored our way out of the harbor, once again past the America’s Cup Kiwi headquarters, and out into the bay.
From here on the pictures are a little sketchy, as I was spending my time trying to follow the safety instructions and not fall out of the boat. As soon as the sail went up, the boat heeled over and we were all clinging to the rails and to each other.
Two happy sailors!
We turned west toward the North Shore bridge, which connects Auckland with all of the suburbs on the North Shore. This bridge was for many years, a single lane in each direction. Some years ago the city held a contest for international construction firms to come up with the best solution to increase traffic flow. The winner was a Japanese firm who came up with a way to add a lane to each side, without major reconstruction or delay. The bridge is now known locally, unofficially, as the “Nippon Clip On”.
We sailed for about an hour and a half – good friendly crew, nice boat and a lot of fun. It would be a shame to come to Auckland, “The City of Sails” and not sail.
This is our sister ship leading the way through the drawbridge and back to the harbor.
Some of the super sailing yachts in the harbor.
Back on the ferry and back to Devonport – a really fun day!
Beautiful!!