Category Archives: Daily Lime

Marsden Cove Fly Over

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We take a short trip to Marsden Cove to meet with a friend whom we met in Fiji. Linda and Leigh Hopper own a magnificent power yacht named Moon Shadow and we ran into them many times while in Musket Cove.  They actually live in Whitanga which is about 5 hours from Whangarei. 

They were kind enough to invite us to their home for the holidays but our boat was in complete disarray with missing windows, a disassembled engine and a broken windlass.  So, we had to pass. But we did want to see them so we all decided to meet in Marsden Cove.

Leigh’s company, Hopper Developments, developed the entire property and has intimate knowledge of everything Marsden!  We met for a lovely lunch and then he drove us around the marina, yard, and residential property.  He showed us the amazing lock they built which happens to be the largest residential lock in the southern hemisphere coming in at a whopping $5 million to build.

His company plans to build a retirement community and several apartment buildings to finish up the area.

Did he say helicopter?

Before we wrapped up the day he asked if we would like to see the grounds from the sky.  Let me think about that, “um hell ya!”  He arrived by helicopter and took us for a quick 15-minute bird’s eye view of the area.

Leigh is an expert pilot and easily navigated the airways with precision.  What a spectacular opportunity to see this beautiful area from the sky!

We flew along the interior where he pointed out new business opportunities for his company.

And then we flew along the stunning coast.

He then took us for a 360 where he actually flew the helicopter upside down!  I wish I had my video going, but by the time I realized I was upside down I was too late and giggling because I was upside down!

We ended the tour flying over a few anchorages.

What an unexpected joy!  Leigh is a true gem and so very generous with his time and company.  We hope to spend more time with he and Linda soon – so stay tuned!

Events from this blog occurred in early December 2022.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  Did you read about our challenges replacing our windows?

Red Bull Flutag Comes to Auckland

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The famous Red Bull Flutag comes to Auckland. Our friend Tyler from “Yana” drives us 2.5 hours into the city for the first time.  It is a beautiful drive on a 2-lane highway through green, lush mountains.  It was a wonderful way to arrive into the big “city.”

Crowds start to gather along the rail early at the center of Wynyard Quarter (where the America’s Cup was held in 2020).

It was a rainy and ugly day, but we managed to squeeze a marvelous time out of it.  We bellied up to a tall table in a restaurant called The Good George.  We could see the launching platform, the large TV screens, and enjoy the comfort of rain cover. Plus, we had tasty food and craft beers!

So, what are the particulars of Flutag?

  • The platform is 6 meters high
  • The longest flight was 78 meters (258’) in Long Beach in 2013
  • 30 teams registered for the Auckland event, but only 21 showed and 1 had to drop out
  • Judging is based on creativity and distance
    • Creativity includes showmanship, pre-flight show and dance, costumes, music
    • Flight is distance flown

Rules:

  • The craft has to be homemade
  • Craft must be human powered
  • 1 pilot and 3 crew
  • Maximum length is 6 meters
  • maximum weight is 180kg

Prizes:  1st Prize $15,000, 2nd Prize $10,000, 3rd Prize $5,000 plus lots of sponsor prizes.

I headed to the Red Bull Flutag center during one of the rain lulls to check out the activities and crafts.

The Crafts:

Since this was my first Flutag I was determined to go “back stage” to see the crafts up close and personal! 

They certainly were very creative

This large, red, well designed craft gave everyone high hopes.  We all were convinced it would do well, but in the end it just went splash like the others.

Another air craft with high hopes managed to fly less than 10 meters.

It was the same story for most of the air crafts – flying between 8-10 meters and not making the podium.

Until the Red Barren and Snoopy came to take their turn.  They managed to fly a whopping 47 meters taking first place!  They are no stranger to Flutag.  The same team won first place during the event held in Auckland. Check out the Red Barren and Snoopy at 2hrs54 minutes.

Super fun day with good friends and awesome entertainment!  I highly recommend checking out a Red Bull Flutag if they come to your neck of the woods!

The events from this blog occurred in early December.  In our last blog post we celebrate my 55th birthday.

Birthday: You Can’t Drive 55!

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Where did all the years go?  Somehow I manage to turn 55 and honestly I have a hard time believing it!  But yet, here we are enjoying another birthday celebration with fabulous cruiser friends!

My birthday fell on a Monday and for some reason, most eateries are closed on Mondays.  So, we decided to celebrate on Sunday at The Butter Factory.  It is one of our favorite places to go in Whangarei and it did not disappoint with steak night!

We had about 12 people at our rowdy table including Chris (SeaGlub), Tyler and Shayna (Yana), Minke and Jaap (Eastern Stream), Rokas and Simona (Starlight), Adda and John (Rhapsody), Jacque (Kaloha).

These are certainly my people!  We’ve known some of them for years across several countries and they keep popping up 🙂

I feel so blessed to have been able to celebrate my birthday with these friends.

2 Days of Celebration

We were installing our new lithium batteries on the 16th so Matt took me out to dinner with our friend Chris to a new place called No.8.  It is an Asian fusion restaurant.  Pretty nice, but very expensive.  I was finally able to use my $100 coupon that I got from the marina for winning Best holiday decorated boat!

It was a great day(s) as we started the install of our new batteries, unloaded 500lbs of old batteries and had two amazing dinners.  I am feeling like a very blessed girl!  And a huge thank you to all of those who called, texted and sent Facebook messages.  I felt so much love!

Events from this blog occurred in mid-January 2023.  Our blog posts run 6-8 weeks behind actual events.  We repair a cracked neck and rusty elbow in our last blog.