Saturday 28 January Nelson market

The market at Nelson is legendary. Almost everyone we met and in the guide book strongly recommended a visit. How could miss this highlight. We took an early start on the day with bags in bags ready to scoop up all the lovely produce and arrived a little after 9am. Business was already brisk; people swooping on organic fruit and veggies, stopping to sample home made jams, pickles and chutneys, gazing upon the eclectic and intriguing clothes. The clothes stalls specialised in unusual fabrics from possum fur and wool jumpers, children's clothes made from curtains a la Sound of Music, more handwoven wool as you'd expect in the land of the sheep.
David found a man selling second hand tools who amazingly had somethings we didn't already. We do now. I pounced on the blueberries. Locally grown and freeze beautifully. Now's the time to buy as the season lasts just 2 weeks. Am a sucker for the sales pitch?
Groaning under the weight of bursting bags we tottered back to the marina via the chandlery (no day out is complete without venturing into a boat shop) where we picked up a new international dive flag and a brush for deck cleaning (on the promise it would be used).
Some of the lovely people we met at the yacht club came by as promised this afternoon. Tony and his two grandsons came to say hello and Tony brought his cherished book on the geology of South Island he'd offered to lend. The topography of South island is varied and this book will explain why it looks the way it does with extinct volcanoes, alps, fjords and alluvial plains. Next to pop by were Lorraine and David with copies of tide tables and charts for French Pass which is the short cut gateway from the Abel Tasman into the Marlborough Sounds. It's a narrow and shallow gap between D'Urville island and the mainland with eddies, whirlpools and currents up to 8 knots. A little local knowledge and the tide tables will ease my apprehension. They are fonts of information on best places to visit and where to drop the hook.
Our evening was quieter. It seems we've been out since we arrived and there are boats jobs crying out for attention while we're alongside with shore power and unlimited water. David spent his time in the engine room and I had the sewing machine out making a new flag to replace the tattered remains on the man overboard buoy.