Kia Ora from New Zealand! We’re Hauled Out! + Pictures

Kia Ora!  Coming to you live from New Zealand, 15 feet above sea level, aboard the good ship Quixotic: Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends and family!

We have so much to be thankful for this year.  Thank you to all our amazing family and friends for all their love and support.  Thank you to all our amazing guests who have helped make Quixotic Charters an amazing success in only the first year.   We are thankful for our health and well-being.  And lastly, we are thankful for the amazing vessel Quixotic, for taking care of us and seeing us safely through rough seas and across oceans and for being our luxurious private floating island.

After arriving in New Zealand almost a month ago, we spent some time exploring the North Island; hiking, glamping, exploring.  Then we set sail down the coast and linked up with friends along the way exploring hidden bays and hiking some amazing terrain.  Then we spent about five days docked downtown in the Whangarei town basin getting our fill of city life.  Now we find ourselves hauled out at Norsand Boatyard, where Quixotic will be for the next few months as we travel back to the states for an overdue visit with family.

The haul out went well and we are now scrutinizing every inch of Quixotic for any sign of stress or fatigue after beating her up over the past year and a half since launching in Fiji.  But all is going well and Quixotic will leave here in phenomenal condition once again and ready for the 2018 charter season!

Happy Thanksgiving to our family and amigos back in the states.  See you guys soon.

Lewis & Alyssa

24 November 2017

Norsand Boatyard, Whangarei, New Zealand

At the peak of St. Pauls rock

Hammock time on a private peninsula above Whangaroa Harbour

Check out this cool leaf insect!

Thanks again Simon for lending us your very fun M1!

Falls on the Kerikeri river

Fresh oysters at the Old Packhouse Farmers Market, Kerikeri

Happy girl on the Kerikeri river

Fun with friends Jose and Owen in the Bay of Islands

Sunset over Whangaruru Bay

It was really nice to finally have a competent boat yard in charge of the haul out!

And she’s out!

FINALLY – Someone else gets to clean the hull!

They lifted her up high enough to drop both rudders out. They said they were the best supported rudders of any catamaran they have ever seen!

Where we are now. A quiet nice little corner with a view of the mountains and the river. It even has a nice little picnic table in the grass nearby.

I was determined to find a tiny leak that was finding its way in. We used a vacuum pump and green food coloring in fresh water to find it and it’s now dry and will be re-glassed when we return. 100% dry hull again!

Mermaid in her riding gear. Vacuum pump on the skeg in the background.

We bought a scooter! “Traded the van for it, straight up” – We have been making a lot of dumb and dumber jokes. But it’s great for getting to the gym and back!