Racing Playbuoy

This week I gathered up my courage and was rewarded in the best possible way. I went to the harbour Wednesday after work and introduced myself to the first sailor I met. He wasn't able to help, but I kept looking and the next one was.

He invited me on board Playbuoy, even though they already had a full crew of 8. I was introduced as a "pier-find" and welcomed kindly. Playbuoy is a Stuart 34 with a deceptive appearance. For the untrained eye she might not seem like much of a racing model. Even I would probably have doubted her, if it wasn't for the look of the crew and the rigging.

The crew spans 3 generations, from owner and living legend, Roy, who is past 80, to a couple of young guys like myself. The core crew are all highly experienced sailors, perhaps in their 50's. Once we got racing, I learned that Roy, even at his age, can still compete with the best of them (knees permitting). I love my sport for making that possible.

The rigging is not new, but nothing is old either. It looks cared for and trusty. The fittings are made for racing. There are enough options to trim and an absence of family friendly solutions. That extends to the interior as well; The boat is empty inside, except for spare sails and navigation equipment.

The race was too intense for me to take any pictures,
so here is one from when we got back to shore

I enjoyed the race immensely. I was on the main, so I was working hard in the gusty conditions. We had everything from 5 to 20 knots of wind and some tactically interesting shifts as well. Our downwind start had perfect timing and speed, but we couldn't find a clear track, so everyone else caught up to us. On the upwind Playbuoy impressed with a boat speed of 6.8 to 7.2, but some our tactical choices didn't pay off, so in the end our result was mediocre.

Being back on the water after almost a year without sailing feels great. So I've joined the crew.

Early weekend
This weekend is a long one, because today is Labour day. For me it has been even longer, because I unexpectedly got half of Friday off. Our servers were down and we had no internet connection, so there was absolutely nothing we could do. We went home and enjoyed a nicely extended weekend.

Deserted office at noon

Chinese duck
Since both Ross and Marie will be leaving soon, we are making the most of our last days together in NZ. Sunday night we had a memorable meal of Chinese roast duck with plum sauce. A very tasty dish, that I hope to be able to serve for a special occasion some day.

With a heavy, sharp cleaver and decisive cuts,
Sin Yat expertly prepares the duck

The first time I saw Sin Yat use that cleaver I was shocked. Since then I have learned so much about Chinese food culture. It now seems to me like the only right way to make the cut. How else would you cut a duck into pieces fit for eating with chopsticks without being wasteful? Of course you must not cut away the bones, because your guests like to chew on them and savour the duck taste.

The crispy skin and the fatty meat go perfectly together with the sweet plum sauce and the intensity of a good pinot noir. Highly recommended.

See you, Jess

This Wednesday I went to an event with the Research Association. It was an introduction for new members, so we were lots of young researchers there. Cool people. They make me feel like I'm in the right place.

In the office
Campbell keeps surprising Mariyam with his hilariously detailed knowledge of Indian culture. She still doesn't know that his girlfriend is from India.

Jess' leaving party
Jess, had her last day at NeedScope this Friday. She is going to work in a job with less hours, so she can focus more on her actor/director career. I'm sad to see her go, she is such an amazing person.

Of course we made the most of the occasion. Lunch with entire office at Food Truck Garage, drinks after work at La Zeppa and all night dancing at Sweat Shop Brew Kitchen. That just got better and better.

BBQ
And it seems like the introductions will never end this week. Sunday, I met up with 15 young church people for a barbecue at their pastor's place. Great fun, but also a bit intense for a fundamentally atheistic guy who is just being curious...

Way too much food (not enough wine)

Meeting lots of people

It's been an exciting week. I'm feeling bubbly even now, one workday into the next week.

Reunion
Our flat family came back together this week. Sin Yat returned from a three week vacation in Europe and Marie is back with us too. She has been travelling all over New Zealand for three months, but it doesn't feel that long. It's great to see them both again. We celebrated the occasion with a big family dinner cooked by our two French couchsurfers, Yvan and Florent.

Meeting new people
Wednesday I went to my first Meetup event! It was a casual dinner and drinks event by the generic "Auckland 20's and 30's" group. So much fun. Weird and wonderful people. It's hard to describe them as a group, because it seemed like everyone was there for a different reason. Or maybe it's all the same reason. Meet new people and have fun. I did.

Hunua falls
This Saturday I joined my colleague Eri and her friend Michelle for a hike at Hunua Falls. The weather was perfect for it. Cold by New Zealand standards and cloudy, but not raining. I wore shorts and t-shirt and felt very comfortable.

I did bring my swimwear, but the girls didn't fancy a swim
In truth, neither did I - It wasn't that hot

The Cossey Dam has sheep walking on it

Majestic kauri trees gathered in a grove

Meet up

This week was a bit average. There was nothing particularly bad about it, but a couple of things just didn't work out the way I had hoped.

Open day at the marina
Saturday the main harbour in Auckland hosted an open day event. I arrived early, eager to take part, only to find the harbour almost empty. Not too surprised, I went to a bakery to get a pie for breakfast. Very Kiwi of me.
When I returned, the harbour still felt empty. The busiest area was the car park, where there was a car boot sale on. I visited a couple of the sailing clubs, trying to find a way to go sailing. No luck. One of them offered me to go sailing in a Splash. I showed polite interest, but honestly... I'm not a kid.
The other sailing club I visited didn't seem to care about it being open day at all. I'm sure I could have been persistent enough to find a crew there, but I didn't feel welcome. So I left. Disappointed.

The most interesting part of the open day for me
was reading the history of Lipton Cup
It is sailed in boats like the one in the model

 

No longer on Tinder
After two weeks of swiping left and right, I've given up on Tinder. I haven't managed to get a single conversation from the 15 matches I have had. The only reply I got was from a bot. I have no idea whether that is common or not, but I'm disappointed.

Joining Meetup
I'm not giving up completely though. I've joined Meetup.com instead. Now that might sound like the same thing to you, but it's not an actual online dating site. Meetup is an event site, where you join groups of people who have similar interests to yourself and then attend their events. So I've joined a group of people who are tired of online dating. They organise dating. No irony intended.

I also joined a lot of other groups, so hopefully I'll start going to lots of fun events.

My pet math project

This weekend was sunny, so Ross and I went to the beach. First, we went West to Muriwai.

Must. Learn. Surfing.

Then, we went back East to Mission Bay.

Had a midday nap in the sun and didn't feel guilty at all

I love my job

I've got this pet project at work. I'm making an algorithm. In my mind, it has the potential to change how we think as well as the results we present. In the real world, it's a number in a report, that will only be changed in some cases.
But the prospect of a small change does not discourage my bosses. They know I care a lot and they are fine with me spending some time on my pet project.

Math is fun
I'd love to tell you all about it, but honestly, very few of you are going to care. Instead think of this as an open invitation to the nerdiest of my friends. I'd love to talk to you about my pet math project over Skype. Here's a little preview:

Any guesses, what was that?

Feeling Kiwi

Friday was a colourful day at the office. Everyone was wearing a "loud" shirt, supporting deaf children. I won a box of chocolates for wearing the loudest shirt (sorry, no pictures).

Saturday I bought myself a pair of jandals and shouted "Try!" at a rugby game. I'm feeling Kiwi this week.

Became a little more Kiwi, by buying a pair of jandals

Work's good

I'm not too busy, so I'm doing "weird and wonderful things" as Phil put it. Well, mostly vector math, really, but it's complicated enough to keep my mind busy throughout the commute back home. Just how I like it.

Thursday I signed up for a random industry event. It turned out to be a yearly function/party hosted by one of our suppliers. Pretty cool. Lots of market researchers having free drinks at a fashionable cocktail bar and some interesting professional stuff too.

Whangaparaoa

My second week with a car has been less adventurous than the first one. We went North again, but only as far as Whangaparaoa and Orewa. It's a much smaller and closer than I thought it would be. Just a little peninsula 20 minutes away with a marina full of expensive boats. On the pier, people were catching fish at an impressive rate. Three guys caught four fish while we watched them with mild interest.

Gulf harbour looking South back at Auckland

Had dinner, saw a man dance like Michael Jackson and
got lost in a crowd of Asians at the Glenfield markets

Now on Tinder
I'm nervous. Not about rejections, there's nothing easier. I'm nervous about what happens if a girl swipes right. Awkward. Awful. Oh well, other people find it fun, so I'm sure it will be...

Driving North

It's been a good first week with my car. We've driven a thousand kilometers together and seen a lot of beaches, bays and highways.

Good morning car

Saturday Ross and I went North on a road trip. At brunchtime we had French toasts at a cafe overlooking the Bay of Islands.

Not the last time I visit Bay of Islands

Full of energy we did a two hour hike to the Haruru falls.

I didn't think it would be safe to jump in

On the way there we saw something, guess what it is?

We hitched a ride back to the carpark and drove on further North.

The Epica enjoys the view too

Where oceans meet
When you drive until you can't get any further North in New Zealand you arrive at Cape Reinga. To the Maori it is a mythical place, where souls descend to the afterlife. To tourists it is a rare chance to see the Tasman sea meet the pacific ocean.

Both seas were calm in their own way. The Tasman was rolling in, endlessly crashing on the western shore. The Pacific serenely absorbed the waves as soon they crossed the Cape.

Cape Reinga, where oceans meet

We met this little fat, running bird on our way back to the car. Google tells me it's a Fernbird.

Fernbirds can fly, but they like running better

Dinner in Paihia

We drove back the way we came and had dinner at an Italian restaurant in Paihia.

Even in winter, the night in Paihia is full of life

After another three hours of driving we got back to Auckland. I fell asleep fast, feeling a good mix of exhaustion and achievement.