Ted's Log, Stardate April 17, 2008

HI FROM AUCKLAND,

PAT AND I ARRIVED HERE LAST WEDNESDAY AND HAVE BEEN DOING THE TOURESTY THINGS THROUGHOUT THE NORTHERN PART OF NEW ZEALAND'S NORTH ISLAND SINCE THEN. PAT WILL BE FLYING BACK HOME TOMORROW AND WITHIN A DAY OR TWO I WILL BEGIN MY SAILING TRIP ON THE SAILING VESSEL "CAPRICE"

"CAPRICE" IS A SEAWIND 1160 OWNED BY OUR GOOD FRIENDS DAN AND CAROL SEIFERS. THE BOAT WAS CONSTRUCTED LAST YEAR IN AUSTRALIA AND THEY TOOK DELIVERY IN SYDNEY LAST NOVEMBER. WITH THEIR SON VAUGHN AND HIS FRIEND DAVID RASMUSSEN AS CREW THEY SAILED THE BOAT HERE IN DECEMBER.

ON THIS UPCOMING TRIP, CAROL, DAN AND MYSELF WILL BE JOINED BY CREW MEMBER AND GOOD FRIEND TOM HANSEN. ALL OF US LIVE IN POINT RICHMOND AND ARE MEMBERS OF THE RICHMOND YACHT CLUB.

THE PLAN FOR THIS TRIP IS TO SAIL NORTH ALONG THE NEW ZEALAND COAST TO THE BAY OF ISLANDS AND WITH A FAVORABLE WEATHER WINDOW HEAD OUT TO OUR DESTINATION OF HAWAII.

THIS TRIP IS SIMILAR TO THE ONE I MADE IN 2003 ON BOB AND RENEE MILLER'S SAILBOAT "WANDERING STAR" BUT WITH TWO MAJOR DIFFERENCES. FIRST IS THE ROUTE. IN 2003 WE LEFT NEW ZEALAND AND SAILED TO FIJI, TONGA, AMERICAN SAMOA AND CHRISTMAS ISLAND. ON THIS TRIP WE PLAN TO SAIL EAST TO FRENCH POLYNESIA AND AFTER VISITING VARIOUS ISLANDS WILL SAIL NORTH TO HAWAII.

THE SECOND MAJOR DIFFERENCE IS THE BOAT. "WANDERING STAR" WAS A 38-FOOT MONO-HULL SLOOP, WHILE "CAPRICE"
IS A 38-FOOT CATAMARAN (MULTI-HULL). THERE ARE SIGNIFCANT DIFFERNCES IN THE WAY THESE BOAT SAIL.

I WILL GO INTO MORE DETAIL ON THESE DIFFERENCES IN SUBSEQUENT MESSAGES.
UNTIL THEN, TAKE CARE
TED

Rethinking our route

Well now that we have returned to the USA, we have been rethinking our travel plans. Everyone we talk to asks, "Why are you in such a rush to get the boat home? Why don't you spend more time in Polynesi? You may only get one chance to visit paradise."

So, we are rethinking our plans. Wouldn't it be nice to see more of the Islands? Why don't we take a shorter trip to Tonga, Fiji, Samoans for 4 months, then put the boat up on the hard in a place like Raiatea for the winter, then pick the boat up again in the spring and sail it to Alaska, where we will be able to spend several summer months cruising down the coast? Sounds great, but we have a lot of mechanics to work out. Will Tom and Ted like the idea? Will our lovely house sitter and dog sitter, Gunda. be able to come back next year? How much will it cost to put the boat on the hard for 6 months? Anyway, we might change our plans. In the interim, Tom, Merrie, Ted and Pat are traveling throughout New Zealand, while using Caprice as a home base. The Spectra Watermaker is not working properly yet, but the fix-it man is there today. We jump back on the plane tonight (Monday, April 14, 2008) and arrive in N.Z. on Wednesday. Hopefully the watermaker will be fixed, Tom and Merrie will spend a couple nights in Davenport, then the ladies leave to come back home. In the interim we will be discussing the possible optional travel plans. Keep tuned to find out where we will be going.