From the helm

Well what a wonderful event SailGP was! The weather was perfect, incredible sailing conditions, the dolphins were happy, all the spectator boats and people on shore had some fantastic views, my on water team and our dedicated volunteers and helpers were superstars and I am pleased to report it was a huge success.

I am particularly proud of the Inspire program which engaged with many parts of the community, including all the yacht clubs and local youth who were involved as well as a brilliant Breaking Boundaries women ' s event which you can watch here.

I've just been up in wonderful Whangārei to wave off the boats who are sailing off up to Japan, to catch up with some of our amazing Island Cruising sponsors, to meet up with some of the Pacific Rally participants and to join in the Ocean Cruising Club BBQ.

In April I am participating in a conference with the South Pacific Sailing Network with various stakeholders from around the Pacific who all work together to promote yachting in the South Pacific.

We are going to be debriefing on the COVID border closures, the impact that had on the cruising community and ways that we can grow and develop cruising in the South Pacific in a sustainable way.

I am very conscious of the impact that sailors have on the communities we visit, in both good and bad ways. Things like taking extra care with the environment, being culturally sensitive when visiting different countries and also helping to work together with communities so that we leave a positive impression and benefit to everyone in our wakes

We can all do our bit to ensure that cruisers are continued to be welcomed by the locals going forward

All the yachts heading up to the Pacific this year are now doing their final preparations, getting their Cat 1 certificates signed off, documentation completed, provisions on board and keeping a close eye on the weather too

There are lots of other people who help me out with these things behind the scenes, and who are experts in their field. People like Angus from Yachting NZ, Patricia and David from Gulf Harbour Radio, Peter from Passage Guardian Nick, Keryn & the team from Predict Wind, David from Bato Flags, Bob & Bruce our weather gurus, all the marinas and local tourism departments and our port officers up in the Pacific, Richard from Rocket Guides, and our fantastic sponsors of the event - new ones on board this month are Marsden Cove marina and Line 7 Sailing gear. With all their support we are able to provide some excellent deals and great content for our rally packs. Thank you all so much.

Also the people participating in the rallies are a wealth of information and their willingness to share their knowledge with others to help support the group as a whole is heartwarming.

We've got about 13 families and 31 children on the rally this year - I know they are all going to have lots of fun sharing some adventures together.

By the time the next newsletter comes out, the Pacific rally will be just about to depart with the first group aiming to head away early May, and then there are some others departing slightly later, as well as quite a few members who are starting to make their way across the Pacific from Panama as we speak!

We've also wrapped up the South Island Rally which has been underway since the end of December. We had 33 boats register for the rally and many of them made it all the way round the South Island visiting Marlborough, Fiordland, Stewart Island and Banks Peninsula along the way. Lots of awesome people and fun times

We've also got a great group of crew members keen to get up to the Pacific next year, so if you are looking for crew or keen to get some experience, check out the CrewSeeker page on our website here.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Thanks for all your support.