RENDEZ VOUS

Egil:
I had just finished my little pre-adventure; my moped trip from LA to Buenos Aires (see mopeddagboken.blogspot.com), and was now more than ready for that big adventure. I left Buenos Aires with my packings, and with a money-sprinkling stopover in LA, I headed towards New Zealand where Øyvind, supposedly was waiting me with our boat. I had never seen the damn thing, except from Øyvinds facebook pictures, and felt like a christmas morning child as my plane set off for a Fiji stopover.

Oyvind:
Family finally sent home after a christmas/new years visit to New Zealand I started cleaning the boat before the Arrival of the Co-Owner. Priority one; stop that leak in the floor that lately had provided us with up-to-date test samples of the quality of the local sea-water.

I had reached both my goals for the previous year; I had passed all my papers at the university and had summited on Mt. Cook as a part of a greater plan of making my year more about fun and less about studies. I was more than ready for the boat, Egil and me to leave and let the adventure begin. I had lived here in the marina for more than half a year, reading all I could about sailing and wanted to get on with it.

Egil:
“You cant leave Fiji without a return ticket from New Zealand”. I tried to check in for my last destination after a little tasteof the humid and beautiful surroundings of the airport, but it seemed I had a problem. No return ticket, no papers of boat ownership, nothing really. Had to post a electronical telegram to Øyvind in search for help, and 10 hours, 10 swearwords and 10 white slices of bread with honey later I had proven my unlikely ownership of a yacht, located in Auckland city. Øyvind had managed to arrange some papers stating nothing really, but they were papers. In any case I had my last inflight meal as I spotted yet another sail boat from my window seat. I really didnt know what the hell I was getting myself into here. The only thing I did know as I stepped onto New Zealand soil was that I owned something floating worth 50 000 of my Norwegian krones.

Øyvind:
First time at the airport: No Egil. I have misread the arrival date. Second time at the airport: Still no Egil. I didn't check my email. If I did I would have found five different emails from Egil stating five possible arrival times. Hectic digitial communication to follow.

Third time: Finally the guy has been able to coax someone into letting him into the country. He's even quite quick through customs. Funny how efficiently you travel when your combined two year's worth of luggage can be carried in two tax-free shopping bags. One is even a Lacoste. Egil is showing some class.

Egil:
Åja, den karn! A classical Norwegian salute from somone who haven't seen eachother in a long time, and who will spend the next two years together on 20 square meters. We drove down to the privileged West Park Marina and I got to see that enormous pile of fiberglass. Damn that boat is big. My new home. I stuffed my plastic bags into a locker, and there it was. I had moved in, the adventure could begin.