Off to Fiji, once again!

www.sailbayofislands.com

Freewind’s current position report: (Monday, May 21, 19:30 NZ time)
28º41’ South; 174º42’ East.   Course: 323º      Speed: 4.5 knots Wind: 6 knots from the southwest. Seas calm.  "Lovely sunset, one lone Albatross keeping me company. 618 nautical miles to waypoint at the Southern point of Fiji.  Regards to all – Ron"

 

With the temperatures in New Zealand on the cool side, and the warm tropics beckoning, Freewind, with Ron as solo crew, left the Bay of Islands last Friday setting her course due north, to Fiji.

The last two weeks were devoted to pre-cruise maintenance and keeping an eye on the long-range weather forecast. The mainsail boom was reinforced and painted and the seams on the sails checked and stitched where needed.

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Ron:  One of my favourite sailing quotes is:

The art of the sailor is to leave nothing to chance.     -- Annie Van De Wiele

and I always have it in mind when preparing for an ocean passage.

The mainsail boom is reinforced before the ocean trip		A nice paint job before she goes back on the mast

Freewind, being a ‘working boat’ is always maintained in top condition, so before leaving for the long 8-10 day trip across the ocean there is normally no major work. I always go up the mast to check that all’s well up there and secure an extra forestay to reinforce the rigging. Swap ‘coastal gear’ for ‘offshore gear’: life-raft, dinghy, and storm sails, and fill up the water and fuel tanks. The navigation and shortwave radio gear also gets checked, and last but not least, the cupboards and lockers are stocked  with provisions.

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Flip-Flop-Fly all ‘done up’ and ready for her big trip north		Loading the Laser on Freewind’s deck

This year, Freewind is also carrying a Laser sailing boat for the Junior Sailing Club of Savusavu. Ron’s long association with the club goes back to the years when his own daughters learned to sail there and he has been helping with coaching, building and maintaining the fleet of Optimist sailing dinghies, and in the last few years – the Lasers. When we first got her, "Flip-Flop-Fly" was looking a bit neglected after being shore-bound for a long time, but with Ron’s TLC and boat-building skills she’s looking all lovely and spunky again. She will be the latest addition to the Savusavu Junior sailing Club’s Laser fleet and we hope she will have a comfortable trip on Freewind’s deck and provide lots of fun to the kids, and, of course, win lots of races.

As of today, Freewind and Ron have covered over 300 miles on their way north to Fiji. The weather has been been good and the forecast is also looking quite promising.

We wish them a pleasant journey and safe landfall.

Follow Freewind’s position reports on www.skipr.net and click Freewind.

Charter season 2011-12 coming to an end

www.sailbayofislands.com

Hi everyone,

The 2011-12 charter season in New Zealand has came to an end, with some amazing late summer weather – those clear cloudless days we yearned for during January.
Freewind will be heading off to the South Pacific for a few months and will be back in the Bay of Islands in September.
It was a pleasure to be able to show all our guests the Bay of Islands at its best. As you can see from recent photos sent by our guests, we had picture-perfect days, the fishing was bountiful, and the friendly dolphins were there to say hello.
Those that made the effort to climb up the trail to the top of the hill at Army Bay (Motorua Island) and at Roberton Island were rewarded with magnificent views of the Bay in all its glory.

Freewind (centre) anchored in Army Bay, Motorua Island      photo: Rob Orme		Another amazing photo, looking over Motorua towards Cape Brett                   photo: Rob Orme

Just wanted to drop you a note of thanks for our trip with you. We had a truly magical trip which we will all remember for a long time. Ron, you were an excellent host and the food was lovely. The trip had everything we could have wanted – great sailing, beautiful scenery, wildlife and fishing… We were truly blessed with the weather which followed us for the next 2 weeks across NZ!            -- Caroline and Rob

	Sunsets were magnificent and the early mornings were tranquil and serene, perfect for a casual kayak or some time out, before sitting down to enjoy Ron’s famous hearty breakfast. photos: Kris Niles
Sunset at Paradise Bay, Urupukapuka Island		Time out

photo: Caroline Bennett		photo: Cori Niles

And speaking of food – there was plenty of freshly caught fish and mussels to share. Ron had to admit his culinary skills were challenged once or twice by his guests who cooked some delicious seafood dishes, in keeping up with the captain’s first-class creations from the galley and the barbeque.

“No amount of imagination could stretch this one to legal size” Kris         photo: Cori Niles		This one, on the other hand, ended up      on the plate                   photo: Kris Niles

As the days are getting shorter and the temperatures dropping here in New Zealand, it is time to think of heading north to the warmer waters of the South Pacific, and Ron is doing exactly that; repairing sails and checking gear, provisioning for the passage and getting into “cruising mode”. Hoping to leave around mid-May, weather permitting. Watch this space for updates.

And finally, thank you to all our guests for the wonderful feedback you have been sending us, like this one:

Thanks again for the awesome 2 days in the Bay of Islands. Cori and I had a wonderful time - it really was the perfect way to kick off our travels.                                                   ---  Kris and Cori

Kris has devoted a page on their travel blog to their Freewind trip, with great photos and lovely prose, well worth reading:

http://www.krisandcori.com/post/21966572806/sailing-with-captain-ron

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

Ships are the nearest things to dreams that hands have ever made,

for somewhere deep in their oaken hearts the soul of a song is laid.

-Robert N. Rose