We service Wildwood’s motor every year, and every year I wish I had written down all the various bits I need to do the job. Inevitably we end up missing one vital ingredient, which means another trip in the dinghy, drive in the car to the shop, which will of course have just closed for…
We have just returned from a trip to New Caledonia. The entire island is surrounded by a big reef and there are lots of little reefs inside that. Navigation is ok here, as the charts are really well marked, there are nice suggested tracks to follow and lots of cardinal and lateral marks and lighthouses…
Seth has been doing a school science project on Astronomy. One of the projects he had to do was to find out how to find South using the stars.
“Time & Tide waits for no man!” That was what the haulout manager reminded me when we had broken down on the way to to be hauled out. (big drama, diesel bug in the fuel tanks, and we had to throw out the anchor to avoid being blown on to the rocks) we were stuck,…
Despite learning all my lights and being a nerd with the Coastguard Boating Education flash cards, when you are at sea at night it is really hard to decipher navigation lights on other boats. I think the main difficulty I have is knowing how close you are to the other boat. We don’t have radar…
Yes I am back to studying again! Time to refresh the old buoyage knowledge. It is handy stuff to know (especially if you have an exam coming up or are planning on navigating in a new area!) Non sailors – please read on, you might learn something for a quiz night. Sailors will probably (hopefully)…
I am on to my next Coastguard course now… Inboard Engine Maintenance. So once again I am going to be using the blog as a convenient place for me to store my study notes for my future reference. How engines work is a complete mystery to me, however I am super keen to learn! So…
We don’t get much fog around these parts, well only occasionally anyway. So you can imagine our surprise (and panic) when we woke up to thick fog on our recent delivery trip down the coast of the South Island. It is quite eerie not being able to see anything further than a boat length ahead…
We love a good raft up! Kids clambering from boat to boat, adults congregating on one boat or another for pre-dinner drinks, and after dinner parties. For us a raft up reminds us of good times with great friends. On our recent holiday our record was eight boats one night all rafted up together, and after…
We are currently preparing Wildwood for our delivery trip North. We are taking her up the East Coast of the South Island of New Zealand from Lyttelton Harbour – where we live – to Waikawa Marina, which is nestled in the heart of the Marlborough Sounds. Our aim is to take her up early December…
Astrolabe Sailing 