Goodbye Long White Cloud…..
After three
wonderful years of having Mistress based in New Zealand, the time has come to
leave the land of the ‘Long White Cloud’ and to head Mistress’s bow Northeast
back into the Pacific for the long sail back to Vancouver.
Time in New
Zealand has seen Mistress sail the local waters of the Hauraki Gulf, enjoying
the very best of sailing and cruising New Zealand. Friends and family have been
the best of crew.
The sail back to
Canada is planned to only have two stops, Tahiti and Hawaii. With some 7,500 nm
of sailing over the next 2 months it will be a busy time for both boat and
crew.
Once again I am
blessed with having some great crew aboard. I leave Auckland with Millsy aboard
as my ‘wingman’ for his 4th voyage on Mistress. His offshore
experience, ability to fix almost anything and his great humour makes him
invaluable! The rest of the crew for this first leg include two Canucks from
Alberta…..Rob McNeill and Andrew Hicks. While they live a long way from the
beach when at home, they both are capable sailors and keen to learn on what
will be their first offshore passage. The crew is rounded out with two
twenty-something’s in Kiwi sailor Nicole Halliburton and American Alex Carter.
Having the company of youth for us older baby boomers. is a real plus. Everyone is settling in and I
am confident we have an excellent team.
Mistress herself is in better shape than ever and I sense she is itching to get back to sea again and do what she does best…..sail with speed and strength and to deliver us safely to our destination....
We will keep you
posted on our progress as best we can.
Cheers
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