A New Stack Pack

Roger, head of the North Sails loft in Opua (roger.hall@nz.northsails.com), was very kind in offering Chris the use of the loft floor and a sewing machine to build a new mainsail cover, aka ‘stackpack’, for Georgia.  She’s been intrigued by sail lofts and has now had the chance to sew in one.
The guys at Opua North Sail are a great bunch of guys who really know cruising sails (and racing sails even better) and care a lot about preventive maintenance. We took all our sails in for some TLC and re-sewing and after Richard, working while between ocean races at the loft, spent two whole days sewing on them. They are now ready for another few ocean miles. All at a very reasonable price.  Richard is off in a few weeks to Bermuda to be a sail maker for the Japanese America Cup entry.
While we were out at anchor in Opua we would dinghy by this Moore 24 everyday. This is Gannet, sailed from California by the famous, or infamous, Webb Chiles. Webb is a bit on the eccentric side. Long ago he became the first American to sail alone around Cape Horn. He has circumnavigated something like 5 times, once on an open boat. He’s in his mid-70s now and doing another circumnavigation on this small, fast and very low-to-the-water boat. He’s quipped that he is doing this circumnavigation so that he has done one for each marriage he’s had. (His web site is: In the Present Sea)
Webb’s isn’t the only small boat that has crossed oceans here in Opua. This is Mongo, a Cal 2-27 owned by Ronnie Simpson. He was seriously injured in combat while in Iraq and has a done a lot of offshore sailing as a sort of therapy (His web site and story is at: Open Blue Horizon)

Don’t bring your bottle opener to New Zealand. The Kiwis are far more advanced in bottle opening technology.

In a tribute to Blame the Victim this sign says Car theft occurs when you encourage it. Similar to the old saying Guns don’t kill people, people who encourage bullets do.
Paul