Well that's it then Toroa has his new owner, Chris from Auckland.
Toroa will sail on the Manukau Harbour and later on the Whangarei Harbour.
Chris appeared mid week, mid afternoon. We had Toroa loaded and lashed down to the trailer with the two of us talking constantly. I was aware of how intimidating it must have been for Chris with so much strange information to absorb. I gave him a file of images of Toroa in varying stages of rig so that he can reference them when he is setting up. Chris has some work to do repairing the abraded keel line and applying the new abrasion strip to the keel, antifouling and paint. I've agreed to visit him once he is ready to rig and launch.
Chris stayed overnight with Julie and me before heading off back to Auckland.
We traveled with him for a small part of the way to complete ownership transfer of the trailer at the Post Office in the Northland town of Kaikohe.
We said our goodbyes and Chris left with some of what I have come to identify as the result of my life's work to date.
I feel now that giving Toroa his wings was a good decision for me at this time. As Mike Toy, Jefferson Chapple and Gary Dierking unanimously reminded me, "Toroa is not who and what you are, your identity is intact with or without him".
Thanks guys!
Once again I was surprised by the level of interest shown in Toroa. Chris was the person who originally purchased Takapu.
Once he knew that Toroa was for sale Chris approached me to reverse the sale of Takapu and opted instead to buy Toroa.
I will continue to keep this blog current as I still have a great deal of unpublished information about my activities, stories of my Proa adventures, building pics and a great many images of other proa projects including those of the launching of Papa Tom Davis' Proa "Takitumu."
I also wish to continue documenting my own adventures and future endevours relating to canoes.
Harmen
