SCHOOL ZONES:
Gulf Harbour School, Whangaparaoa College.
CONTACT:
Robbie Castle, 09 424 4171 or 0211 858 211.
As an eight-year-old during World War II, Bob Salthouse was such a dedicated sailor that he and a mate would sneak around the barbed wire strewn along Narrow Neck Beach. They'd sail until the guard at Takapuna Heads raised his rifle in warning.
That plucky kid turned his nautical obsession into a long career as a boat designer, and even today, aged 80, he is sketching a launch design on the draughting table of his Gulf Harbour study.
The lifelong Shore boy has never lived far from the sea, from his early days defying the Home Guard to living above his boatyard at Greenhithe with a young family, to more conventional family homes in the East Coast Bays.
So it seemed natural that he and wife Jean would gravitate to the marina apartment development at Gulf Harbour, on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula. With a berth right outside their living room, their boat is parked closer than the car.
They bought their ground floor apartment through a stroke of luck five years ago after selling their home at Castor Bay.
For several years they'd had their boat moored in the Gulf Harbour marina and, once or twice a week, would pack the car, drive up and haul their gear along the long path to their launch.
Jean would look out from Castor Bay and note the sun seemed to shine more on the peninsula.
"It often seemed to glow, like a rainbow. It'd be fine weather there, while we'd be getting rain."
With boating playing such a big part in their lives, it was logical to move their home closer to their boat.
Image 1 of 6: Boating, golfing and eating out are high on the agenda for this home's owners. Photos / supplied
Bob could be casting off minutes after stepping out the door, and be back in half an hour with fish for dinner -- about as quick as a round trip to the nearest supermarket. Or he could strike out to Kawau or Mahurangi, or further afield to Rakino or Rangitoto.
Meanwhile, Jean, a keen golfer, could be getting in a game at the world-class Gulf Harbour Country Club. They could meet, post putting and puttering, at the neighbourhood restaurants and cafes.
There was one problem -- they were a week away from moving out of Castor Bay and hadn't found the right apartment at the marina. As they were resigning themselves to storing their belongings and renting, the phone rang. A woman they knew was selling and wanted to give them a heads-up.
"I came inside and walked into the lounge and I thought, 'This is just perfect,'" Jean says. "We were blessed."
Not only was the mooring right outside, but the apartment had four bedrooms and three bathrooms -- perfect for guest accommodation, while leaving a room spare for Bob's draughting. It was at the eastern end of the canal, in strolling distance of the rotunda and cafes.
For Jean, the clincher was that rare luxury of apartment living: a wee lawn and garden. They bought it, and moved straight in.
Short of living in a houseboat, they could hardly be closer to aquatic life. A school of snapper is more often than not circling and leaping in the water out front. Fishing is not allowed in the marina, so they're effectively pets, along with a resident trio of huge stingrays, one of which has been known to sweep along beside them as they stroll the promenade, like a dog going for a walk.
Bob's three ocean-loving sons have put him on notice that his solo boating days are over, so he's sold the launch and he and Jean have decided to seek out a new harbour -- perhaps further north.
Oh, and a quiet heads-up to the Salthouse boys: going by the sketches on that draughting table, their father is definitely not intending to stay high and dry for long.
