April 04, 1999-Cruiser Goes "Dilbert"

Judy and Kay Koski

The trip back from Waiheke Island was fast, 24 miles in 2 Hours and 20 Minutes, which is 7.2 knots, over ground.

Not bad for a poled out #4 and a full main.

The wind was mostly mid twenties, occasionally as high as 27. In the old days, if this was coming home down the Puget Sound in July, or if we'd been here before and it was just sunny day out, we'd have flown the spinnaker, but this isn't our home waters yet, and it was a grey spitting day, and we didn't feel like it, so we just used plain sail.

One boat, a 30 footer fractional with full crew and a kite passed us somewhat faster than us, but we passed all the other weekenders.

Weekenders. That's what we are now.

We have, as David Jensen of Hopalong put it, gone "Dilbert", joined the corporate world. So we go out on weekends. This time it was the four day Easter weekend. We went to Waiheke Island with about 5000 other boats. Big parade out, big parade back, crowded harbours in between. But it was good to get the cobwebs shaken out. Wings seems fast since the bottom job, the sailing was easy, anchoring more so. Even the wind shift last night which blew straight into the bay where we were wasn't too bad. But we left early because it got rough enough that we didn't feel like a lazy breakfast.

Last week Kay Koski left on Thursday night, at 11:30. She had been here for a month and we really enjoyed her stay, but we worried about her long flight home. On Wednesday Bob and Carol were here too. So we had five of us sleeping on Wings that night. It worked.

Now that Kay has left Judy is about to start work herself. She has a part time job lined up. I am just finishing one contract myself and probably will start another one right away. So we'll both be going off to earn money for the cruising kitty. Thoreau wrote, "Beware of any endeavor which requires new clothes." I don't know if it true, but I did have to buy new clothes. And I think I'll get some more pretty soon too if I start this next assignment.

When I last worked in Seattle it was casual wear every day. Not so here in Auckland. Suits. No matter, I can do suits.

The commute is the weird thing.

First I ride the ferry to town, then take a bus to the railway station, then ride the commuter train out to Ellerslie.

Coming home sometimes feels strange. Since it is getting to be fall here the light is fading by six o'clock when I am standing on the lonely platform in Ellerslie waiting for the 6:03 train to come rolling around the bend. Wharehouses to the right and a freeway to the left. In between just a cold unlighted concrete platform next to a couple of pairs of tracks. Other than cars going by on the freeway, not a soul to be seen. And this is a long way from anywhere as far as I am concerned. A long way from the boat and the boat is a long way from anywhere that I can call home. It feels pretty. strange at times.

But that’s whats happens when a cruiser goes Dilbert, it gets strange at times.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, Auckland