2012 is gone, welcome 2013!
Looking back on 2012, she’s been a good year…
The year started on a busy note, as usual, with our Bay of Islands charters, the sails were up, dolphins were frolicking and the tourist kept us busy and happy until the end of April.
In May, Ron was off to Fiji, arriving in Savusavu and slipping into “Fiji Frame of Mind” without any effort. We had a crew reunion in Fiji in August, and by September, Freewind and Ron were back in Russell, waiting for the weather to warm up and catching up with boat maintenance.
As soon as the days became longer with the sun warmed up the land, the tourists arrived back in the Bay of Islands and we were reminded of how lucky we were to be able to enjoy God’s Own little bit of paradise every day of the year. The great thing about sailing in the Bay is that every trip is different: the wind dictates how we sail and where we drop anchor; the sun and the clouds paint the sky and the islands a different shade every day. We get excited every time we see the friendly dolphins, even though we have seen them hundreds of times, the encounter never fails to produce that special feeling of elation…
But the best part, for us, is meeting all our wonderful guests and getting to know them, even if it’s only for the day and we know we probably won’t ever see them again. We’ve had people from every continent on earth (even two young ladies who had wintered over in Antarctica and were on their way back to the US), from Alaska to South Africa, from Denmark to Thailand, and everywhere in between. And, of course, it’s always a pleasure to get to know our Kiwi guests who came from all over the country, from our very own Paihia, down to Invercargill in the far south, to experience the Bay of Islands.
And as we look forward to the coming year, we would like to wish Eleanor, who was our first mate on many of Freewind’s trips this season, best of luck as she embarks on a new career and her first year at university, and the same to Melanie, our relief first mate this season, on her last year at high school. To all the good people who supported us and joined us on our sailing trips – thank you for making our job so enjoyable, and we wish you and your loved ones and the rest of the world peace, health, and happiness throughout the coming year.
And to all the sailors of the world – fair winds and following seas, may the wind always help you get to safe shores.
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!
Photo: Henrike Stockhausen
Melanie (first mate) and Captain Ron celebrating New Year’s Eve 2012 on Freewind
As always, we chose to get away from the crowds ashore on New Year’s Eve and slipped away to what we thought would be a quiet anchorage. However, as midnight approached we realized that the other boats anchored around us were not going to let the new year in without a loud welcome… so we joined in with the celebrations and welcomed the new year in style – a great start to 2013.
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Quote of the day
The days pass happily with me wherever my ship sails.
- Joshua Slocum
- Joshua Slocum
