A new yachtie!

Gabriel on my Nanook

Gabriel Phang contacted me while I was on holidays in Kuantan. He was a Singaporean, migrated to Auckland more than 20 years ago. He had sailed a catamaran and owns a 10 ft. dinghy. He was thinking of upgrading to a trailer yacht and while researching for a suitable yacht to buy, he googled Noelex 22 and found my blog!

I invited him to come to Hamilton to test drive my Nanook. He quickly accepted and we fixed a date. The conditions on Lake Ngaroto were just perfect, with winds of 12 knots from the NW. He said that he will wait until next year before buying. He needs to complete the NZ boating courses for boat masters before venturing out into the Huraki Gulf. My advice was for him to get a 25 footer, a  6.7M Joker or an Elliot 7.4 because they are bigger and safer for him in the open sea. Basically he has 4 choices depending on his available budget:

Kestrel

19 ft. Kestrel, a good robust and stable trailer yacht suitable for a small family. It is in fact a floating caravan but cost much less. Mobile homes are getting really too expensive to own.

Noelex 22

Noelex 22, which looks fast and sleek, is only slightly faster than a Kestrel. Both these boats are suitable for a single hander, either for racing or for cruising the freshwater lakes of NZ. Erecting a boom tent, (after dropping anchor), will convert the large cockpit area into more useful space for family cruising.

This 6.7M Joker sails much flatter than most trailer yachts because it has built-in ballast tanks. The hull is made of wood, glassed over to save weight. It is therefore faster than most yachts of this class. All Jokers were made from kit sets by its first owner. It is not found on Trademe for sale, as often as other factory produced boats.

The Elliot 7.4M is the largest size of the trail-able yachts. It has a winged keel controlled by a hydraulic jack.  It is a very powerful boat. Ideally you need a 3 men crew for rigging up, launching and raising the spinnaker. You may also need a more powerful towing vehicle than the family car. Beyond this size, you exceed the maximum width, permitted  for NZ highways. It is time to consider a yacht with a permanent fixed keel. These keelers are normally stored at a marina. So, size is no longer a limiting factor.

60 footer

Just look at this luxury yacht berthed at the Cup Village in Auckland. It is every man's dream boat. You can actually sell your house and live on board (if your wife agrees!) Imagine, no more phones ringing, no utility bills to pay, no lawns to mow or trees to prune. To change the scenery, simply cast off, raise the main and sail into the unknown for a month or two.

Long lost cousin

Annie Chin's father and my father were brothers. I met her for the very first time in Kuching last month. She is 74 years old and I am 67.

standing: Eunice, Christine, Rose
David, Annie

It all started when I was waiting for my tour to Shanghai last year. I took a side trip to Sabah to trace my roots. I made many contacts in Sabah. One of these was Teresa, Mrs Steven Chin, to whom I gave Rose's phone number in Kuching. She called Rose a few months later, informing her that she was visiting Annie Chin (her sister in-law) in Kuching!

My own family had always thought that Annie's mother has taken her to live in England. It was not true. She was left as a baby in Kuching with an auntie and has been living there all this time without us being aware of it. It took her 74 years to find us! Suddenly, I have so many relatives in Sarawak. I always thought that all my relatives are living in Sabah.

Restaurant owner

A successful restaurant owner died and left everything to his devoted wife. She was a very good-looking woman and determined to keep the restaurant, but knew very little about running one, so she decided to place an ad in the newspaper for a helping hand. Two chefs applied for the job. One was gay and the other a drunk.

She thought long and hard about it, and when no one else applied she decided to hire the gay guy, figuring it would be safer to have him around the house than the drunk. He proved to be a hard worker who put in long hours every day and knew a lot about running an eatery. For weeks, the two of them worked, and the restaurant was doing very brisk business as before.

Then one day, the widow said to the hired hand, "You have done a really good job, and the restaurant looks great. You should go into town and kick up your heels." The hired hand readily agreed and went into town one Saturday night. One o'clock came, however, and he didn't return. Two o'clock and no hired hand.

Finally he returned a round two-thirty, and upon entering the room, he found the widow sitting by the TV place with a glass of wine, waiting for him. She quietly called him over to her.

"Unbutton my blouse and take it off," she said. Trembling, he did as she directed.
"Now take off my boots." He did as she asked, ever so slowly.
"Now take off my stockings." He removed each gently and placed them neatly by her boots.
"Now take off my skirt." He slowly unbuttoned it, constantly watching her eyes in the dim light.
"Now take off my bra.." Again, with trembling hands, he did as he was told and dropped it to the floor. 

Then she looked at him and said,
"If you ever wear my clothes into town again, you're fired."

The wedding song (Ave Maria) by Julie Rogers