The last post

I'll make this quick.

It will hurt less that way.

This is the last post of Past the Lighthouse.

We've lifted Enki out of the water, and she's snug in her cradle at Half Moon Bay, a boatyard in the outer eastern suburbs of Auckland. We like the feel of the place. Coincidentally, we almost started our journey from here.

Up she comes - a beautiful boat top to bottom

In early 2011 we dropped by Half Moon Bay to look at an HR46 for sale. Grace was a well-equipped and meticulously maintained boat and we were sorely tempted. But at that time, piracy in the Indian Ocean was scarily out of control, and the Aussie dollar was surging, so the case for buying a boat in Europe was very strong. We passed on Grace (she eventually found an Australian buyer). But here we are again, and Enki has been laid up in the exact same spot in the yard as Grace was.

We cruised across the finish line in good spirits. We'd managed a return visit to Great Barrier, and what's more, we'd had fresh wind behind the beam on both the outward and homeward legs. Tinny, as my mum says. We savoured the sailing, truly.

Cruising Great Barrier - with Little Barrier on the horizon

I'll miss my kayak. I'd just like to say that. It's been my escape vehicle. When we drop anchor,  the kayak goes in the water pretty smartly.  I will often be away from the boat for a couple of hours at a stretch, giving Alex time out from me and me time with myself and the world around me.  Sometimes that means other people - I'm a great chatterbox in my kayak - but more often I'll just drift around the shoreline, watching birds and marine animals and what's under the water (coral, rocks, kelp), and going up creeks and into caves and under low-hanging trees and generally indulging my curiosity. It's been the best antidote to my apparently restless nature.

Alex, for his part, is always happy just to be on the boat. That's been enough for him, he's continually told me. So leaving the boat is hard for him. He's done a lot of grieving, in his way. But he'll be fine.

So, this is it, folks. We've had a few spectacularly rich years living aboard Enki II, and if you've kept regular tabs on our journey via our posts, then we're flattered.  The world is drowning in personal expression these days and blogs in general are tedious pieces of work (you know about our own personal preference for Twice in a Lifetime - a standout blog). So thank you. It's been a pleasure.

The sun goes down over Auckland on our last night at anchor

PS You'll have maybe noticed that there's an HR for Sale blog piggy-backing on the Past the Lighthouse site. Since we have no idea how long it will take for Enki's new owners to find her,  we'll leave Past the Lighthouse up as part of the sale process.  In the mean time, we trust she's in safe hands at Half Moon Bay, and we'll continue to take regular and good care of her ourselves.