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Introduction – Sailing the Tasman Sea

In 2011 I met John Peterson. He was selling his 1992 Beneteau 44.5 after 12 years of ownership. I had spent the previous two years researching cruising yachts and had decided on a Beneteau, around the 45 foot mark. ‘Baami’ was Johns boat and he had her berthed at Gulf Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand and had been trying to sell her for 18 months.

John and his wife Kerry were headed to the Mediterranean the following month to take possession of their new 55 foot yacht, Lurata to commence what could turn into five years of northern hemisphere cruising.

I stepped aboard Baami and immediately fell in love. This 19 year old yacht had been well maintained and was in excellent condition and I sensed from John’s detailed description of each system and how it was operated and maintained, that John had been a loving and fastidious owner. Choosing a quality second hand boat is as much about the boat, as it is about the quality of owner you are purchasing it off. A poorly maintained yacht is a liability with a hundred problems waiting to unfold.

I decided to look no further and made the decision to purchase Baami immediately. I asked John where the name “Baami” was from. He said he thought it was French, but did not know what its meaning was. I Googled ‘Baami’ but found it did not appear to translate into anything meaningful.

Well before I discovered Baami, I had decided on a name for my first cruising yacht. I love the Ocean and my daughters names are Gabrielle, Eugenie and Madison, soOcean Gem was what Baami was renamed shortly after we purchased her. I believe ‘the good sailors get the good luck’, so did not get hung up on superstitions such as avoiding renaming a boat, not taking bananas on board and not leaving port for a long voyage on a Friday. So far so good.

This is my story about falling in love with cruising New Zealand waters on Ocean Gem, before planning, preparing and sailing across the Tasman Sea to the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia where I live today. This blog is a step by step story of my extensive preparation, plans and checklists that will help any blue water sailor safely prepare and cross any large and dangerous ocean.

The following chapters are all from my iBook – Sailing The Tasman Sea by David Hows, available in the iTunes store for $5.99.  It includes; 206 Pages, 46,055 words, 232 photos and 11 videos.

This content is from my iBook – Sailing The Tasman Sea by David Hows, available in the iTunes store for $5.99.  It includes; 206 Pages, 46,055 words, 232 photos and 11 videos.