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.