Brent and Raewyn in the blocks
We are back after a long time away from the site, due to many obligations with getting Crusoe ready for sea, haul out, my work etc.. it has been hard to find time to devote to this site, but now the biggest part is done and we are now awaiting our departure from NZ in June. We are now ready to set sail. I return to Africa tomorrow and after 6 weeks I come back to NZ and we are off to North Queensland Australia and yet another crossing of the ditch (Tasman sea - 7th crossing).
We have managed to do 3-4 good sails to shakedown the systems, we can now boast new sails, some additions to our navigation eqpt. Sailmail for email and grib files while at sea, the bottom is clean and both engines (main and Gen set) serviced. We had a nice sail to the Cavali Islands last weekend, 10-18 knots of wind was the most we could muster, but the new sails were quite nice, made by a local company “Willis Sails” in Kerikeri.
We hope to make Cairns direct from Opua, a few thousand NM and really put Crusoe to the test, as the departure will be winter in the lower lats of NZ, however with everyday of “Northing” the weather should improve and warm up as well. The newest plan is to make Cairns ASAP, clear into Ausi, and continue around the top to Darwin where Raewyn & Crusoe will sit out another 6 weeks while I return to work, leaving only a short 1500nm sail to our next destination of Sutera Harbour in Sabah Malaysia, where Crusoe is now registered (Langkawi).
We are now sitting out a 40Kt gale on our mooring in Opua, at present winds are between 30-40kt and we are unable to get to shore without getting wet. Tomorrow I am off to work, so the last day here in NZ is a leisure one, updating this blog site and packing bags, I even got a little nap in! We will endeavour to keep the updates coming, and we hope all our friends, family and visitors will continue to check in and leave us a little blog note, always nice to hear from you.
Have a great adventure! Maybe we will catch up next time you are in NZ
What a great looking vessel! And the crew is not bad either! We will be looking forward to hearing about your travels and adventures. Best wishes, D and T
Tony and Don, yes she is a nice looker, draws alot of attention in the boat yard for sure with the lifting keel and rudder, people stop and chat all day and work goes slow, but hay…nice to meet people that way, if you guys want to do a stint with us to low Isls from Cairns or to Gove from Cairns your welcome, Raewyn would love to catch up..me too! Leaving frm NZ around 6 June wx permitting, then its a delivery to Darwin, not much time to smell the roses, I only have about 5 weeks to do it, clear into Cairns (non stop from NZ).
Caryl, we hope so, stay in touch
Hey Brent ! Looks like all is going to plan. Have a great adventure and watch out for those semi submerged containers floating around. We are still in Saudi , planning on another 3 years. Maybe we will be in Cape Town one day when you get there. I assume it is on your list of places to stop.
All the best. JJ de Wet.
That woud be great to catch up in Cape Town, love that city, I want to go to George for awhile (Knisia-not sure I spelled it correct).
Cheers
Brent
We are so very happy for you two. Such exciting adventures await you. Great blog — great way for us to try and keep up with you.
Dan & Sandy, You guys wrote the book on adventure, your on the never ending holiday……. however you earned it!
Thanks for staying in touch, I will try to keep the site rolling along with more content, we are both very busy getting ready for the passage to Darwin in just a couple of weeks now…we are very excited to get underway…this time with out the lightning please!
Regards
Brent