In some ways it's bittersweet because this place has been Cariere's home for so long, and the fact that its been our first experience being at a marina, and the fact we fell in love with this boat here, and the fact that we met her lovely ex-owners here - well, you get what I'm saying. I am so full of sentimentality.
We caught the ferry over here on Saturday morning, and wandered down to the pier for the last time.
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The noise of the city sounds different. The hum is different. As I sat there at 23:00 on a Saturday night I could hear Green Day belting out Boulevard of Broken Dreams in the distance. I'm not unaccustomed to this hum; it feels familiar as I am used to the noise of the city. But this is certainly different to Half Moon Bay, where all you hear is...not much, actually. Half Moon Bay is a relatively quiet marina, although we always had someone watching our every move since we were directly opposite the cafes and strategically placed benches for onlookers.
There is definitely a part of me that wanted to run toward the noise and dance the night away. But there is also the quieter me; the one that relishes in piece and tranquility.
It was certainly quiet on the marina at dusk. Most of the other boats that were not here when we arrived were now safety nestled in their berth.
We witnessed a beautifully dramatic sunset that evening. The sun had a bright orange/red glow, and as the clouds drifted across the sky the patterns and colours were spectacular.
Jef and Kien floated the boat in the water. This sight is what I envisaged when we came down here to check out the pier the other week to see if we wanted to rent this marina berth.
Kien running back and forth along the utility pier - his hair so wild and his smile so wide.
It feels so nice to be here; just hanging out, chilling.
We had our first visitors here within the first hour of arriving; Jef's friend and sailing buddy Dan, with his wife and son. They had been sailing in front of us, and we were going to meet up at Mckenzie Bay over on Rangitoto, but it was pretty rough out there on the water, and we saw them heading back before we passed the lighthouse. So they came over to say hello to us at our new marina mooring instead.
It's good to have our boat here in the city. Cariere is home.
