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Sans Souci and Me - a liveaboard life

Lorraine

Lorraine

The Wicked Witch of the North
My world is one different to the norm. There are no roads nor rubbish collections, no streetlights nor phone lines, no power lines nor footpaths, no water reticulation nor postie. My world is one dictated by Mother Nature, surrounded by Mother Nature and sometimes involves going to war with Mother Nature (she usually wins). My world's boundaries are water, the river ruling my life. My dinghy takes me ashore, my mobile phone connects me to the other world and most importantly of all, my wonderful 100 year old boat, Sans Souci, gives me shelter, warmth and a home.

Sans Souci was built in 1916 on the Otago Harbour in the South Island of New Zealand. She spent her life down there until 1966 then came north to Auckland. In 1996 I found her in Whitianga and fell in love. My son and I moved aboard her in October 96 and she has been my home ever since. So this year she celebrates some milestones. She turned 100, she has been in the North Island for 50 years and she has been owned by me for 20 years. Not bad at all for an old girl, not bad at all.
 
Lorraine

Lorraine

The Wicked Witch of the North
image.jpeg
image.jpeg
 
Lorraine

Lorraine

The Wicked Witch of the North
Thanks, Miss B :) I conveyed your birthday and anniversary wishes to Sans Souci and she curtsied in response ;)
 
Lorraine

Lorraine

The Wicked Witch of the North
She is in pretty good shape and is also a work in progress, Miss B. I've done a lot of work above the decks and unfortunately for the two of us, the weather has not co-operated this summer for me to finish it off and do the painting. And last June it rained for the first week she was hauled out and only the antifouling was done so her topsides are still looking manky. But that is all cosmetic and will be dealt to on her next haulout. Everytime I think about how labour intensive the haulouts are, I think "but I don't have to mow lawns anymore" :)
 
LisaB

LisaB

HW3D Vice President & Queen Bee
Staff member
Co-Founder
Lorraine, I SO appreciate that you are on water, on mobile access most of the time and are so active here! You are a gem!

Wonderful pictures! I'm living in a house that is nearly 100 years old (1919) and doesn't see near the extremes you see there on the water ... Kudos to you! You're an inspiration! Thank you!

Happy AnniversaryBirthday!
 
Seliah (Childe of Fyre)

Seliah (Childe of Fyre)

Running with the wolves.
CV-BEE
Contributing Artist
Oh, I have been wondering for a while now what your girl looked like! Not bad shape at all for her age, kudos to you for keeping her in such good shape!

LisaB said:
Lorraine, I SO appreciate that you are on water, on mobile access most of the time and are so active here! You are a gem!
Click to expand...

:yeahthat: This, as well. Lisa already said it, I'm just going to second it! :)
 
Pendraia

Pendraia

Sage
Contributing Artist
I'll third it!

Happy Birthday and Anniversary Sans Souci!:bday: I know she's a boat but she still needs cake!

Love the pics Lorraine...she is a bit bigger than I imagined from previous pics you posted.
 
Lorraine

Lorraine

The Wicked Witch of the North
Thank you Lisa, you've made me blush :) It's been a real pleasure to be here and part of the team. I do have to say, and I've said it before, the only reason I became involved here was that you guys made it a safe enough place for a scaredy cat like me to come out from my lurking. And thanks to all yous fullas for becoming my friends :balloon03:

Glad you like the pics, too. Souc fools a lot of people in that she looks small on the water but opens up big inside. She is 40ft long and at her widest is only 9ft6in which was pretty wide way back when but is very narrow by today's boats. It's plenty big enough for me :)
 
Lorraine

Lorraine

The Wicked Witch of the North
It was a glorious evening tonight, no moon so the stars were dazzling in the black sky. To port, high in the east, the Southern Cross, on the starboard side, higher still in the west, Orion's Belt (or as we uncouth Kiwis call it, the Pot). The phospherence streamed in my wake and fish darting through the water made glowing trails. I dipped my hand in the water when I got to the boat and the lights of the bioluminescence flashed on and off, like glowworms on my fingers. All along the hull they flashed, on and off, on and off. I was tempted to go swimming, just to see myself flashing, on and off, on and off.
 
Satira Capriccio

Satira Capriccio

Renowned
CV-BEE
Contributing Artist
Dang Lorraine! I'd never peg you as a scaredy cat! But then, online can be much scarier than living on a boat with all kinds of bitey things under the surface!

As Lisa said ... Happy AnniversaryBirthday!

When I drove back to the barn near Polpis Harbor in Nantucket late at night, I'd often take a side trip down the really narrow, really dark road that ended at the harbor. I'd sit in my car and watch the harbor. Wasn't brave enough to get out of my car and sit by the water though ... I are a scaredy cat too! :oops: Sometimes, I'd fall asleep and wake up an hour or so later and make my way back down that dark, dark, narrow road and on to the barn.

But yeah ... it would be so amazing watching all the glowing sparklies as the fish jumped around out there. Even though the night sky wasn't as amazing during the summer as it was during the winter (too many lights in the summer), the stars were still bright and dense and the sky dark velvet. The only other place I've been that compared was the Route 66 in Arizona. I detoured off Highway 40 on the recommendation of a friend. It was in the wee hours of the night by the time I got to Route 66, and it WAS amazing.

Again ... I never got out of my car. I just knew there were big scary sharp toothed things out there like ... cougars.
 
Lorraine

Lorraine

The Wicked Witch of the North
Thanks Satira and mininessie :)

Oh Satira, I am sooo much more afraid of words than physical dangers. Nuts I know but truth. Physical things don't freeze me up, I deal with them as they happen and move on. Words turn me into a wimp and hurt so much more, I remember them forever. So places/forums that are mean and nasty scare me away. It took a year of lurking here before I came out of my lurk.

mininessie, it is a beautiful place to live, I'm so happy here :)
 
frogimus

frogimus

Adventurous
I'll bet it must be nice to have that for a home. I want to live in a cave, myself. Or a decommissioned missile silo. That would be cool - I'd make a fake stargate to put in it.
 
Lorraine

Lorraine

The Wicked Witch of the North
I've always been partial to caves too, frogimus. Not so sure about the missile silo. But caves appeal to me...if I wasn't the crazy boat woman up the river, I'd be happy to be the mad troglodyte up in the hills :)
 
frogimus

frogimus

Adventurous
What I love about caves is the fact that they are a constant 56°F regardless of the surface temperature. Funny watching the tourists shiver when they hit the 30-40 degree temperature drop.
 
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