Celebrating the arrival of the new mailboat Pelorus Express to its berth at Havelock marina. The rain didn't dampen spirits (they didn't water down the drams of whisky either).
'The mail boat is as much a part of life in the Pelorus Sound as the white-capped waves and golden-pebbled beaches.
For a century it has provided a vital link to families cloistered in secluded bays, the comforting chug of its engine a binding link to the mainland.
Mail was first delivered to the Marlborough Sounds by government steamer in 1869. As demand grew, mail and parcels were delivered to smaller post offices on shore and residents had to row to pick their mail up. But then the mail boat came along.
Jim Baillie is the ninth owner and skipper of the mail boat since it began in 1918. He and wife Amanda Baillie have been running the service since November 2011.
The locally-made boat take its place in history to mark the centenary of the service and a new era in the Marlborough Sounds.'
The official naming of the new boat coincided with the launch of "Time and Tide", Havelock author Lorain Day's new book celebrating 100 years of the Pelorus Mail Boat in time for the milestone anniversary.
