This week:
We started the week with a wedding!! We were joined by our friends Sharyn and Brogan as celebrant and photographer, and being that we were enjoying the last week of school holidays we had some family help cleaning and prepping Faith to look her very best while the floatplane kept an eye on progress from the sky.
A wedding, and a proposal!!
We were thrilled to see the Department of Conservation working to keep the Fiordland National Park tidy, through their efforts to remove invasive weeds from our treasured Hidden Lakes. This requires a diver (our friend John) in the lake, and a small boat flown in by helicopter. All very exciting for our guests to observe. Really appreciated a call ahead from their team, and lots of effort to ensure they left room for us on the wharf. Many thanks!!
The weather started to deteriorate as the week progressed, with waves starting to roll down from the northern end of the lake. It was lovely to see Amelia, one of the local classic boats, out enjoying time on the water, and to see her handled so nicely on her return the next day, with some large following waves. Also great to our friend Ken out sailing. Both these boats attended the Fiordland Classic Boat Festival to celebrate Faith’s 90th birthday last May. We had to move Faith off the wharf that night due to the wind direction changing, and popped her on the mooring to keep her safe. Always nice to have a little adventure in the dark, even if it was a little wild!!
We had a visit from Aunty T -Terressa Kollat – from Southland who is more than a little famous on Tik Tok, has featured on Country Calendar, and we really enjoyed hearing more about her efforts in person. Lovely to see people following their passion, and taking time to share it with others.
We took time to remove one of the air vents at the front of the wheelhouse to resurface the step we use for climbing on and off the roof while sailing. Like all these jobs it wasn’t a quick fix, but came up nicely. Lovely to get this looking tidy again. The hinges on the main cabin doors have also been bugging me, so two came off and have been polished, with a clear zinc protective coat to minimise upkeep for the moment.
I lost a bet with Sophie, which cost me a real fruit ice cream from our friends at the RD service station across the road. Delightful way to enjoy a quick relax prior to our next cruise.
It was a week of entertainment with one of the ride on swans breaking free of its mooring to come and say hi. We popped it back on the beach, just in time to welcome our next guests – for their proposal cruise!! Very special to be entrusted with these precious moments. She said YES!! Megan switched into professional photographer mode the moment he got down on one knee, and captured their special moment beautifully as always.
It’s been a very chilly week at times, and our blankets have been popular. I personally think the magic of being able to hunker down onboard with a warm blanket is a luxury – especially when we arrive at a sheltered calm bay for canapés and drinks. To sail home like we did that evening, with everyone taking turns to drive was a very special memory!!
Right, back to work!!
Cheers,
Adam and Megan, and our team from Fiordland Historic Cruises
