bay of islands, nz, any suggestions for charters?

[svass]

Hello togehter,

we (2 peope) are planning to sail the bay of islands in new zealand in february for 4-5 days. Does anybody have experience there? Is it necessary to book in advance? Any suggestions for charter companies or private charter?

We are after a 25-32 yacht...

Regards

Sven

[yachtdaemon]

Hi Sven,
Yes, it would be a good idea to book in advance - Feb is the best time for sailing in NZ, and there aren't all that many charter boats to go round. There are the usual charter companies such as Sunsail, but when we were there earlier this year we saw a few from a smaller outfit called Great Escape www.greatescape.co.nz which were a lot cheaper than the standard fleet, but not as big or new, more in the range of the average Kiwi sailor type yacht. I guess it depends on your expectations and what you are prepared to pay.

The BOI is lovely, and there are hundreds of sheltered bays to anchor in. At that time of year school will have recommenced, so you should be able to get bays to yourself if that is what you want. If you go to our website www.yachtdaemon.co.nz and go to photo galleries, there is one for our trip around Northland and the Bay of Islands, which will give you a bit of an idea about the area.

Hope you have a great time,

Jill,
SV Daemon

[Connemara]

Jill:

On another topic, I just looked at your website, which has some lovely pix, and read a bit about your travels. Looks as if you have lots of fun.

I'm trying to get a sense of liveaboard docking charges in New Zealand.

My son, his partner, and their new baby all live in Auckland. The doting grandparents live in Toronto. What we're thinking of doing when the golden years strike is to buy a boat, live on it in NZ for half the year (the nice half), and then fly home for summer here.

Boats in NZ look relatively cheap and there are certainly a lot for sale. But obviously it's the week-to-week costs that add up. In Toronto, we could live aboard (and some people do, I assure you) for probably about $3,000 (C) a year, give or take a few hundred.

But I see ads offering a slip in NZ for $69,000, which seems a shade high.

Can you dispel the fog of ignorance a little bit?

Connemara

[yachtdaemon]

Hi Connemara, glad you found the website useful/entertaining. Yup, we tend to do fun quite a bit!

Re: liveaboard in Auckland. We spend last summer & the summer before living aboard at Westhaven Marina in the centre of Auckland, which is handy to supermarkets, chandleries, haulouts etc. There are other marinas around, it just depends which is most convenient for you and your family.

I wouldn't buy a slip - if you give Westhaven notice in advance of when you need the slip, you can rent off them long term without any problems. They do fill up quickly over summer when the cruisers arrive down from the Islands, but you can usually get something. To liveaboard on a 12 meter berth, it cost NZ$22 per day, which includes water & power. When you go back to Canada, you can move the boat out on to the pile moorings in the marina and only pay NZ$ 8 per day, but you can't live aboard. If you buy a slip, as well as the upfront purchase price, you are chardged annual fees of about NZ$3000 per year! We rented a pile mooring for a couple of years, then rented a berth for 10 years with no problems. Westhaven's website (www.westhaven.co,nz) has a link on their bookings page with all their prices on.

Westhaven is a convenient place to live and to sail from, but is very large and a bit impersonal, but you get to know people when you keep meeting them at the laundry, shower block & internet room, and there are heaps of yacht clubs there which welcome visitors.

Let me know if you need any more info,

Happy New Year!

Jill

[Connemara]

Thanks for that info.

Turns out it's not so bad after all -- about $4 grand Canadian.

At those rates, why does anyone buy a slip, I wonder.

NEway, It's probably already 2008 where you are, so have a good one.


Connemara