Zen - family cruising catamaran: SailBlogs

Halfway Done

Monique — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:49:48 -0600

Zen's spa treatment is halfway done. She's sanded down and ready for her new paint job. That's the biggest project. Other items that were voluntarily upgraded were fuel tanks, water tanks, fridge/freezer closures, new non-skid, sails, and wheels. But saving the best for last...electric toilet!! You may wonder how that could be considered a voluntary upgrade. What the heck did we have before? No, it wasn't a bucket. Our heads (aka toilets in boat speak) were hand pump units. Our arm and chest muscles are in really good form. (Continued...)

Capturing Dosia

Monique — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:59:45 -0600

Will they continue to beat to weather, wind and waves? Do you think they'll make it into the Q-dock today? We wondered if our good friends, Drew and Margie, had successfully sailed into Opua, a small coastal town, about an hour north of Whangarei, in the lovely Bay of Islands territory. We agreed to take a shot at it. The 4 of us played hooky from homeschooling and boatyard chores to take a drive up north for a little friendship surprise. After entertaining ourselves in the stunning towns of Kerikeri and Paihia, we drove to the marina to track down s/v Dosia. Immediately we started bumping into loads of cruising pals...s/v Whisper, s/v Imagine and more. And then voilla...there's Margie. She's totally shocked to see us, figuring we'd communicate via email rather than drive up for a face to face. Her reaction was classic. "What are you doing here?" she keeps saying over and over with misty eyes. Margie decides the job of waking Drew from his snooze should be given to Cole. Who else? After a nice dinner ashore, we kidnapped them and their computers for a sleepover at our home in Onerahi. It's lovely to see them relaxing in our living room, banging away on their laptops, with big grins on their faces, as they catch up with family, friends and basic communications. Tomorrow will be a fun day for the 6 of us! Dosia...kia ora...welcome to New Zealand! (View Post...)

Incredible Sydney Excursion

Monique — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:42:13 -0600

Down Under would not have been complete without a visit to Australia. Although you'd think it would be a short hop away, it was a 3 hour flight and 2 hour time difference. Sydney was like a perfect postcard in so many ways. Tropical, yet metropolitan, artsy, yet brimming with classic beauty, aboriginal heritage abound and gourmet food and cultural events on every corner. After all the harbors we've seen on this journey, nothing has compared to our timeless gem of Newport, Rhode Island...until now. Greg and Jinny, our trans-Pacific sailing friends and crew members of the yacht Carl Linne, treated us to a Sydney Harbor tour on our 40-foot charter sailboat. Whether it's Newport, New York, San Francisco or Sydney, there's no better way to see the sights than from the water. Watch out! There's a Sydney Ferry about to plow us down. Greg is not only cool at the helm, but smirking while placing a call on his cell. "Hey mate, look out for that sailboat on your bow, it's me at the helm!" Yeah, he knows everyone, including the ferry captains. Stories from his childhood, times as a tug boat skipper, and many more memories were shared as we tacked under the infamous Harbor Bridge. The stunning Botanical Gardens, located in the heart of the city, was our backdrop for our overnight anchorage. Jinny treated the kids to their favorite dinner, spaghetti carbonara, and cared for them during the evening, while I was rowed ashore to play nursemaid to my very ill husband in a nearby hotel. No need to go into details, tmi, but a 40-foot boat with small toilets and little privacy was no place for Zen's captain. Thankfully, Jinny and Greg were heroes and handled Zen's younger crew members for the evening, while Tommy battled his bout of gastro. After his long night, we all got aboard "Blackjack" and ventured to Manly Beach and back, stopping at an anchorage for a gourmet lunch, while sailing under the sun in a beautiful 15 knots of wind. Greg, in true local form, hooked us up with one of his friends for a luxury speedboat ride back to our hotel in the trendy Potts Point. You know which younger crew member was grinning from ear to ear as we zoomed across the busy Friday afternoon harbor. (Continued...)

Ten days to Immersion

Monique — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 22:15:46 -0500

A lot can happen in 10 days. (Continued...)

Team Zen Earns Entrance to NZ via Pacific Ocean

Monique — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The past 24 hours have certainly entertained Zen and her crew. We saw 18-20 foot seas freight-training behind us like moving mountains. Winds gusting to 40-knots, whipped Zen into making 20 knots of boat speed, with only a tiny piece of the jib flying. Autopilot did a magnificent job, needing only a few hours of hand steering, during the height of the beating. After 8 hours of challenging weather, we gained entrance into NZ with 25 knots of wind on the beam and stars overhead. (Continued...)