Author Archives: freedomsail

At Sea, NW Tip of South Island Thursday 19 March 2020 It was always going to be a lazy start, and true to expectations, we got away around 8:30am after a fantastic night’s sleep tied up to Curly’s giant rubber inflatable vessel, “Protector”.  Leaving around this time also coincided with Curly having to move hisContinue reading “Catching the Wind”

Westport, West Coast NZ Wednesday 18 March 2020 After a long dark night taking turns on watch, the dawn arrived … eventually. Greeted by calm-ish seas, (with a persistent rolly southwest swell coming up from behind) and a light breeze, requiring us to rely mostly on the motor for progress One curved ball in theContinue reading “Westport Haven”

… see the video. For regular readers of this blog, you’ll know that Dean, Sandy and daughter Samantha, joined the NZ2020 voyage of re-discovery, on the Picton to Akaroa leg … what seems like months ago now, but was really only the middle-part of February. Dean did an amazing job of producing a 20 minuteContinue reading “You’ve read the words, now …”

At Sea, West Coast NZ Tuesday 17 March 2020 It would have been a perfect night’s sleep at anchor in Jackson Bay, if it hadn’t been for the anchor alarm sounding at around 12:00 midnight, as the change of tide drew Chimere to the chain’s outer limit, albeit in the opposite direction to when weContinue reading “Tuna Slayer Delivers”

Jackson Bay, West Coast NZ Monday 16 March 2020 Up at 4:00, away by 5:00…  In fact, we actually got away at 4:45am.  a Personal Best to be sure.  No anchor of course, so it was  a simple act of letting go our mooring line; that had held us safe and secure these past fourContinue reading “On Our Way – North”

Deepwater Basin, Milford Sound Saturday 14 March 2020 After 14 days of action-packed adventure, fun and unique family time together, we knew this day would always come.  The time to say good-bye to Linda, Matt and James, and send them on their way home to Australia. This part of the itinerary had, of course, beenContinue reading “A Day for Good-Byes”

Deepwater Basin, Milford Sound Friday 13 March 2020 It was a particularly lazy start to the day aboard Chimere, with the morning sun highlighting different faces and angles of the mountain-tops forming the backdrop to our new world; at least our world of the past 18 hours or so. The highest priority was to checkContinue reading “Rest Day At Milford”

Deepwater Basin, Milford Sound Thursday 12 March 2020 CAPTAIN COOK, Second Voyage, March 1773 Cook’s Journal, Fiordland: “The country is exceedingly mountainous; not only about Dusky Bay, but through all the southern part of this western coast of Tavai Poenammoo (South Island, New Zealand)  A prospect more rude or craggy is rarely to be metContinue reading “There’s Only One Milford Sound”

Alice Falls Anchorage, George Sound Wednesday 11 March 2020 The sun seems to be getting up later and later these days, with our 7:00am departure from Toe Cove in Nancy’s Sound being in the dark, as we relied mostly on the black trail left on the chartplotter from yesterday’s arrival, to guide us out. ThereContinue reading “Another Day, Another Fiord”

Toe Cove, Nancy Sound  Tuesday 10 March 2020  This was definitely an anchorage inspired by body-parts today. Derived from the fact that Nancy Sound – our anchorage for the night – is shaped like a leg. Nancy’s leg possibly, although the Cruising Guide doesn’t go into detail, other than to say the Sound is namedContinue reading “Nancy’s Foot Arm”