Nov 11 - Out and about

In between projects we've gone along with friends to Pahia, Keri Keri, Whangarei and, last night, Russell. First off Pahia. It's a touristy little town but has several banks and lots of storefronts with tourist prices for goods. Brian at the scuba shop fixed our regulator, which needed an adjustment as it was free flowing air. We use it with our hooka rig when we scrub the bottom. He didn't charge us, and indicated that January was a better time to go diving around the islands as the water clarity improved then. Grocery shopping is in nearby Keri Keri, with an excellent selection of most anything. We went into Whangarei with our friends on Passages. There's a nice marina there where many yachties spend the season, and the town is really a small city, with lots of places to go, a downtown, and many boat related services. I arranged another sail and canvas maker to visit Infini, so we'll end up with 2-3 quotes from various lofts before deciding on who will do our work. Last night we ate at the Swordfish Club in Russell, the second oldest sport fishing club in the world. It was lots of fun to look at all the old pictures and trophies and talk to a few of the members; the food was really good too. Aboard Infini, the headstay and foil are off and in the rigging shop! We needed to shorten the headstay wire, and figured along the way we'd have the Profurl unit serviced, all easier to do in the shop. The rigger has replaced all six sheaves at the masthead, and from the condition of these original wire/rope sheaves of the Lefiel mast, this was long overdue. We've gone to sheaves that will be for rope only, and our old wire rope genoa halyard will be replaced. The wire was old, a few strands were letting go, and the SS thimble at its terminal end was cracked. Very seldom checked, but time to replace it! With the entire unit on the bench, I had a good opportunity to really go over the Profurl and wire with Paul of Northland Spars and Rigging. I replaced the headstay about 8-10 years ago (my memory gets faulty...) so although the wire and Hayne Hi Mod terminals look OK, I chose to replace the wire. The Profurl unit was due for a major service. In NZ, Profurl parts are expensive, but the shop sells and works on the units, so I've OK'd an overhaul. The work goes on...
Pic: Watching the dolpins play from the Swordfish Club in Russell.