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

Freewind back in the Bay of Islands

www.sailbayofislands.com

The northerly gale this week in the Bay of Islands brought Freewind back to Russell after a 7-day passage from New Caledonia. It was not one of those perfect trips with nice breezes and clear blue skies. The first few days was sailing to windward, a little off course but making good speed. Once Freewind reached the northerly winds from the storm to the south it was all go towards New Zealand, with 30-35 knot winds the whole way. A rough, but speedy progress.

The boat is now safely on her mooring in Mathauwhi Bay in Russell and Ron is getting his “land legs” after all those months on board. Not for long, though – on Friday, Freewind will be out again with our first charter of the season, and another, overnight trip on Sat-Sun this weekend. For details, see September Specials on www.sailbayofislands.com .

Freewind, on her mooring in Savusavu before her passage to New Caledonia and New Zealand		Bar-tailed Godwits with their long, upturned beaks, back on NZ shores after their long passage from Alaska

The timing for returning to New Zealand must be perfect – we heard that those amazing voyagers - the Godwits - are also starting to arrive back in New Zealand, and their voyage is much more impressive than Freewind’s: after flying 10 days non-stop 11,000 km all the way from Alaska (!!) the Bar-tailed Godwits have also started to arrive in their wintering grounds (our gorgeous NZ summer) here in NZ.
They spend the southern summer on the Christchurch coastline and every year the City Council organises a spring celebration to mark the arrival of the first Godwit migrants. The Christchurch Cathedral bells ring for 30 minutes when the first birds are seen on the Avon-Heathcote Estuary. This year the cathedral's bells are out of action due to the earthquake, so the bells of St Paul's Anglican Church in Papanui will ring out at 12.30 for the birds today, Wednesday Sept 14th.

Welcome back Freewind, welcome back Godwits!

Ron has posted photos from Savusavu and New Caledonia on http://captainronsblognz.blogspot.com/ .

Details on our Bay of Islands sailing trips and schedules on www.sailbayofislands.com .