Spring is ‘hopefully’ in the air!
And we couldn’t have had a better start as we took both boats and 47 Epsom Girls Grammar students away for 4 amazing days. We sailed north of Waiheke and across to Te Kouma harbour, Coromandel on the first day. Took a dip in the icy water at first light and watched a pod of bottlenose dolphins on the move and on the hunt for breakfast. We had a fun sail back to Rotoroa island and spent the afternoon at Ladies bay with various beach activities and a picnic dinner ashore in the early evening. On the 3rd day there was a walk for some up to Stoney Batter on Waiheke and knot tying lessons and competitions for others before re-grouping for the afternoon at Cactus bay and then marshmallows around a campfire in the evening. We sailed back to Auckland in to a nice 15kt sou’wester with both boats powered up for a thrilling end to a great trip.
Tackling challenges as a team…
Kawau Island, Great Barrier, Te Haruhi Bay, Tiritiri Matangi Is, Motutapu Island. Sailing, navigation, hiking, fishing, singing, football, knot tying, raft building, bomb fire, toasted marshmallows, shicnronized swimming, spotting Tuatara’s.
With heavy winds on Monday evening due to the strong Northerly winds, the students were asked to help out with a anchor watch during the night. They had to set up a roster system themselves with two on watch at a time for an hour. They set up the roster and they all silently did their watch in the chart room until 0430 the following morning. As they all so enjoyed their night of responsibility, they asked to have the anchor watch roster again on Tuesday night. Well, to be honest, it was not necessary to have an anchor watch, but we loved their dedication, so they watched until 0230 when the wind died.
A busy time with Bluelight
In early October, 56 students and tutors from NZ Bluelight became part of the mighty Lion NZ’s sailing family. We had two 24 hour trips and the last was for 2 days and nights. These trips are pretty intense but I can honestly say that I believe that they will always remember this time with us onboard. They all coped brilliantly with some pretty big winds and we really hope that some of the students join us again for a longer time. Quite a few undertook their Duke of Edinburgh award whilst with us - what an awesome adventure!
Hine Moana takes to the waves!
Over the school holidays we rand our hugely successful trip, Hine Moana again. 12 girls aged 13-16 joined us for 2½ days sailing on Lion New Zealand and then 2½ days with Auckland Sea Kayaks exploring bays and islands around the Kawau area. Girls are always apprehensive on these trips as they arrive not knowing anyone - but within a few hours they always gel and become the best of friends. The watch system we use means they all learn about navigation, setting sails, helming and many life skills - food planning and keeping a tidy ship to name a few! Well done girls - and particulalry well done to those who have now completed their GOLD residential project for the Duke of Edinburgh Award! As one student said..”this trip is life changing'“.
We look forward to our next Hine Moana trip in January… if you know someone who would like to join us, please direct them to this button:
And we also run a similar trip for boys AND girls in January - Tikapa Moana - hit the button below: