Great sail yesterday.  Mostly to windward tacking on the windshifts and Giselle going very well with one reef in 12-15 knots of SSE wind.  Died a bit at midnight so started motoring.  Expecting wind tonight from NW and then 20 knots or so from SW.  Well positioned to the west of Whangarei so should have [...]

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Finally got to sail at Noon yesterday.  Fabulous run with the pink spinnaker up.  Left it up into 18 knots so was hard work to drop as the sock was stuck and didn’t come down over the sail. Then it was through the front at 02:20.  Only light rain and a modest wind increase.  Wind [...]

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Managed to keep the boat speed up but with the light winds coming from where we want to go the true progress was slow. Wind has died now so motoring.  The forecasts have quite a bit of calm areas.  We have fuel to spare to repeat the current pattern of motoring and sailing – that [...]

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Motored until we got to the front just south of Fiji at 18:00 last night.  This front comes off a low a long way south close to New Zealand!  Now got good winds and we are close hauled on the port tack heading off to the SW to get westing in before the wind shifts [...]

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Only just a few more items! Still not in the water but very close.  Andrew arrives today and will have have a few days with us before spending a week in the South Island.  Then we hope to be all ready to launch and look for a weather window to sail to Fiji.

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Deck and cabin paint now complete.  Windows are in and Giselle looks like a yacht again.  It will be many years since she looked as good.

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Progress continues.  We have booked a launch date of 9th July.  Tough to get everything done by then but still achievable.  Andrew and Rebecca hoping to come out and visit.  May sail up to Fiji with Andrew and Rebecca may visit us while in Fiji late August.

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We are still on the hard in Norsand, Whangarei. Actually now in a shed. Everytime we poked a little further we found an area that needed attention and off came another fitting. We have had to cut out some corrosion and replace small sections of plate mostly in the anchor well area but mostly the [...]

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Nothing of interest to report. Hence no reports! Up on the hard in Norsand Boat Yard in Whangarei. The mast is out, the sails away with the sail maker and lots of fittings off so that we can paint the boat. We have a small flat in the boatyard which makes it comfortable and faster. [...]

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I’m back in Whangarei getting ready for the haul out in mid January. I got to see Kirsty at the Alpine lodge in Mount Cook Village with excellent weather, even had red sunset light reflecting off the snowy mountain. Mary is there at the moment and will be back here in the new year. Whangarei’s [...]

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