It’s two months exactly since my last Captain’s Blog. So much has happened it’s difficult to know where to begin. The most important thing to say for those who know me is that my wife, Sandra, is OK. Sandra suffered a heart attack just after my last blog but has recovered well – she’s already back doing things on the boat, although we try to encourage her to rest and chill as much as we can!
The amazing consequence to Sandra’s heart attack was that people in the local community rose magnificently to the occasion and helped us out. The River Queen was due to host a wedding that very weekend. However I obviously followed Sandra as she was flown to Nelson and that left a few well-intentioned crew to tackle the wedding catering and arrangements. Local restaurateurs Chris and Heidi Gibb stepped up and offered their help, first in the form of support for our crew and then by cooking the most difficult items on the menu themselves. At the same time local motellier Chris Foster from 171onHigh Motel volunteered to sort out our laundry and ensure we had clean, pressed table cloths for the day. These people run busy businesses themselves and to find time to help out, unasked, like they did was a superb show of community spirit. The Marlborough Express recognised this and even made it a front page story. In a time when the news is often bad or depressing, it’s good to know that in small town New Zealand the old values of caring for your neighbours, are still alive and well.
Over the past two months The River Queen has become steadily busier. And now the rush of Christmas Parties on board is at its height. This weekend was tiring for everyone involved with the boat, even though we’ve drafted in new crew. We had a party of 90 odd people on Friday night and that was just an indication of the cruises to come. The cruises have almost blurred into one long party in my memory, although the Sunday lunch cruise with live music and plenty of dancing from the team at Nelson Packaging sticks out in my mind.
One more week of parties before we hit the calmer waters of the summer holiday season in the New Year. Before then we have our Special Xmas Day and Boxing Day cruises – a few spaces still left, so come along if you’re able. Then on New Year’s Eve, we’ll see 2008 in on the river, with the champagne flowing. We did this last year and it was great.
Finally I want to welcome our new puppy to the boat as The River Queen’s mascot. Vincent was found in the Marlborough Sounds with his sister: she was running around and he was tied to a tree. They had both had their ears mutilated. The SPCA took the puppies in and cared for them before seeking new homes for both of them. We’ve taken in Vincent who’s now around 10 or 11 weeks old. He’s a lovely-natured dog and we’ll be bringing him down to the boat to say “Hi” to the passengers as he gets a little older.
That’s a long blog but it’s over now - happy sailing all.
