December 12, 1998-Auckland

We never tired of this skyline

(To the tune of Paul Simon's Graceland)
We're going to Auckland, Auckland, here in NZ.


WINGS is in Auckland, city of sails
The bay of Kevlar Mains & #3 jibs, Friday night races bring out 60 yachts,
Crossing tacks up the city front, ducking at the last minute,
Green water and whitecaps, stiff wind racing every day.
This is what made Kiwi sailors so damn good.
High speed catamaran ferries speeding every direction,
Thirty foot inflatable boats purposefully heading...where?
The Sky Tower up there over downtown, barely higher than
the mast on Michael Faye's "Big Boat".
Every other Kiwi has a cell phone against their ear,
There is a mini mall on every corner, and traffic over the bridge would be hell,
but for the reversible lanes.
A small country though, it seems like everyone knows Jean Shipley, PM.
Talk radio, Rush's simpatico, is here, (the schools these days are just appalling, appalling).
Mauri names, Takapuna, Tutakaka, Houhura, Whangeri, Whangamumu.
Driving on the left side of the road. The streets are OK, but how many times will I find my self in the wrong side of a driveway or parking lot, (car park, here)?
Layaway is Lay-by, Take-Out is Take-away, a powerboat is a launch,
a shopping cart is a trundle, a dock cart is a trolley, a freeway is a motorway, a camper is a caravan, and French fries are chips,
and none of this begins to address the accents which we hear in New Zealand, (N-Zed) which is delightful, but sometimes hard to follow.

Well, we are here, we love it, and we'll write more when we get settled.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Auckland