About 15 years ago I started crewing on a yacht called Natural Magic. My Mum had a friend and his flatmate Craig crewed on this yacht. Mum mentioned to him that I was interested in sailing, and he suggested I come and crew on the yacht he sailed on. So I turned up to the…
We had a flare demonstration at the yacht club tonight which was an interesting experience! The cruising commodore – David and myself got permission from Maritime New Zealand to hold the event and we also had to inform Airways/Air Traffic, the Police, the Harbour Master, the Port, Coastguard and the Fire Brigade. Then we contacted…
It was my New Years resolution to learn some new knots, and I haven’t done anything about it – yet! I am lucky enough to have a boyfriend who is a great at knots, so it is easy to be lazy and just get him to do them for me. I appreciate tidy lines and…
I am always amused when I read a fashion magazine showing stunning models dressed in heels and gorgeous outfits on yachts! Oh how I wish I was as glamorous as this! Sailing along on the bow in a stunning outfit, high heels on with the wind not ruffling up my beautifully styled hair… I am sad…
A couple of years ago I was up in Queen Charlotte Sound sailing with some friends and we came across this yacht – Kokomo. She is 58 metres of pure gorgeousness! In fact I was speechless when we came around in to the bay and saw her anchored. I had never…
There are many upsides to boat ownership – Haulout time is a downside… It begins with finding a suitable time of the year to do it. As we sail from September through to June, and ski from June to October, it doesn’t leave many spare weekends to fit this essential task in! This year the…
It is not often that we win anything on Wildwood. This is mainly because we race around with things like hand crank blenders, a fridge full of beer, scatter cushions and magazines, when all the other yachts are stripped completely and even have special ‘racing’ floorboards and light weight anchors. It might also be because…
A barometer reads air pressure – basically the weight of the column of air above it. Learning how to read a barometer can really help read changes in the weather as the barometer identifies areas of high and low pressure systems. Air naturally wants to travel from areas of high pressure to areas of low…
I bought my yacht Wildwood the year before Seth was born, so he has been around yachts all his life. I remember being heavily pregnant and climbing up ladders in the haul out yard much to my mothers horror! I think Seth was about three weeks old the first time he went out in a…
Some handy hints in here from the latest RYA newsletter that I wanted to keep – so here they are: Creek crawling tips Top tips to help you explore the upper reaches of the river. The upper reaches of a river often go unexplored but usually offer stunning scenery, great waterside pubs and interesting…
Astrolabe Sailing 