New Zealand

  Sharry and I are humbled by being awarded the CCA Far Horizons Award for 2021/22 To celebrate this we’ve republished one of our favorite adventures and the changes it brought to the islands. We hope to visit this paradise again now COVID  finally appears to be coming to an end. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Starr arrived in the Marquesas at the end of March 2001. In early April we pulled into Ua Pou and dropped the hook in Hakahau. When we anchored,...

24 February, 2022 /

Don and Adam, our "grounding man", in Ft. LauderdaleWe flew home from New Zealand on November 14, expecting to enjoy the holidays at home and then return to Auckland on January 10. One of the major lessons that people learn when cruising the world is the necessity to be flexible. We had been pondering the question of "where do we want to cruise next?" all year. We both wanted to continue West to the Mediterranean,...

01 June, 2003 /

OWC - the boat returning from a raceOpua: Oct. 23-24 - Time to explore with Ross and Dave before they leave Starr. We rent a car and drive North to Awanui, via Whangaroa and Kerikeri. We stop for lunch at the "world famous" Mangonui Fish Shop and back to Opua by dinner time. Ross and Dave leave the next day to do some touring of the North Island before they head home to Washington State,...

14 November, 2002 /

The beautiful and rugged coast of NiueRaro: Oct. 6 - Don and I arrived back in Rarotonga early in the morning on Sunday, accompanied by our passage crew of Ross Miles and Dave Beller who joined us at LAX.. We cruised with Ross on the pivotal voyage down the coast of Mexico and Central America on Zeehaen in March 2000; the trip that convinced Don and I that we wanted to do blue water cruising and...

22 October, 2002 /

Orams Marine in Auckland2002 was a very good year; Don and I covered 7,800 nautical miles on MV Starr from April to October, with the help of friends on the longer passages. Much to my amazement, I did very well as the only mate, deckhand, stewardess, cook and chief bottlewasher, mostly because Don could be Captain and all of the above as well.Due to business considerations back at home, Don and I weren't able to...

03 May, 2002 /

MV ASTERIA in RangiroaDelivery of the OC6 to Hakahau, Ua Pou in The Marquesas Islands The following is an excerpt from an email that we sent to our many friends who have been following the progress of our attempts to secure a new OC 6 for the Canoe Club in Hakahau, Ua Pou in the Marquesas Islands:Ratero's Dream: Canoes for Ua Pou in the Marquesas IslandsSince I last wrote to you, we have made significant...

08 February, 2002 /

Auckland, New ZealandStarr was in Auckland, the "City of Sails" from October 24 to April 10, 2002. On the trip South from Russell, we stopped briefly at the Great Barrier Islands. They remind us of Northern California with tree ferns and a lot more rain. We thought that we would get back to this gorgeous and sparsely populated island group in March to do some more cruising, but unfortunately, life in a shipyard is "hell"...

16 November, 2001 /

New Zealand: Land of the Long White CloudAo Tea Roa, "the Land of the Long White Cloud". That is what the ancient Polynesian voyagers called New Zealand and that is exactly what it looked like to us as we approached the Northern Island at dawn of the last day of our five day passage from the Kingdom of Tonga to New Zealand. We were less than 40 nm from our final destination of New Zealand...

23 October, 2001 /

A freighter passes as we approach New ZealandThis was supposed to be the "scary" passage. I have been worried about this passage ever since we crossing the Pacific from Mexico. We are just West of Australia and the Tasmin Sea, which has a reputation much like that of the Washington and Oregon Coast. The difference is that while the NW coast is almost always stormy with the wind in your face, this patch of the...

20 October, 2001 /