Sea Meeting Flagged Great Success

Rhondda Sweetman from Plimmerton Rotary

For the last few weeks, Jenny Lucas has been very busy. Firstly she convinced us to join her on a cruise described as being akin to riding a magic carpet around Wellington Harbour except we were not allowed to wear our stilettos.

Then she spent some time talking to those who manage the weather. However, despite doing a great job in getting some 50 of us to join the cruise, on the weather front she did not score so well. While all from Rotary arrived at the gangway attired in the closest they could find to sub-Antarctic clothing, the Captain of the good ship was dressed in shorts although no floral shirt! Nevertheless, Jenny must have convinced those weather people as conditions at sea improved significantly and despite a few wobbles the voyage was pretty comfortable and the cold not so intense as to produce frostbite.

Navigation officer was another task for Jenny and this produced an outstanding view of Wellington at night (enjoyed by President and President-Elect Kay and Denise) as we sailed from Queens Wharf to Evans Bay (cast off by Captain Anne-Marie) and then back to a comfortable anchorage in Oriental Bay. In this role, Jenny's skills were well-honed as we appeared to hit no land or unintended objects. Wellington at night is arguably as spectacular as any city in the world so the magic carpet cruise had an element of truth.

The last but not the least important task was her role as catering officer and this produced a constant supply of food from the time we cast off from Queens Wharf. You could not have gone home feeling hungry!

The cruise provided a great opportunity to catch up with other Club members and partners and the noise level in the cabin and even on the stern attested to the success of this.

There was no formal club business although with some difficulty in breaking the sound barrier President Kay made a gangway speech thanking Jenny for a great night and all her work in organising it.