Copyright Kerry Blaymires August 1999 We are grateful to Kerry Blaymires for sharing his experiences aboard the H28 "Tranquillo" with us. Waiting at Auckland airport for the flight to Tonga This story commences in mid September 1998. (Well it actually starts about 35...

New Year Trip - Mercury Islands 1998 Jan: Chamberlains Bay, Pounui Island, we joined up with Mates Rates and Rusty Scupper. We had found out that some more H28s were at the Mercury Islands so decision made to head in that direction. 2 Jan: Elephant Cove at the Happy...

Want to listen to a great H28 adventure by one of our H28 Association members? Go to the "H28 Yacht Owners Association: New Zealand" Facebook page at the web-link below and listen to a RadioLIVE interview of Hamish Coleman-Ross about his first solo trip from Auckland...

DAVID SMALE, his crewman and the yacht DIATOM found themselves in a jam on a lee shore in Hervey Bay headed for Bundaberg. Thanks to Francis L. Herreshoff for the superb sea qualities of his H28, and to doing some of the right things at the right time, DIATOM and...

We are grateful to Stephen and Rachel Hopkinson for sharing their recent voyage experiences aboard the H28 "Nightshift" with us. For those who don’t know us, my wife Rachel and I had not sailed before we purchased our H28, Nightshift about two years ago. Rachel said...

We are grateful to Stephen and Rachel Hopkinson for sharing their recent voyage to New Plymouth and D'Urville aboard the H28 "Nightshift" with us. Christmas and New Year was out of the way and it was now possible for policemen to get some leave while its still good...

I am writing this anchored of a picture perfect tropical island of Pangimotu in Tonga complete with palm trees, white sand, lovely weather and gentle trade winds, still gotta pinch ourselves sometimes to make sure its not a dream.  Anyway we dropped into our usual...

Finally I am house sitting for my in-laws for a couple of weeks and have mains power available so I thought I had better do my trip report for our trip to Tonga before we sail off again. We have discovered that typing for extended periods of time is difficult when you...

We are grateful to Stephen and Rachel Hopkinson for sharing their recent voyage experiences aboard the H28 "Nightshift" with us. It was the depths of winter, complete with winter sniffles, frosts and getting out of bed to go to work ever more difficult. We have...

Talk on 21 August 2006 by Bev & Keith Agar of H28 Tamujin At the first meeting of the H28 Association, under the guidance of our newly elected committee, the guest speakers were Keith and Bev Agar. They had recently reached the attention of the boating fraternity...

Cook Strait is never dull, but after 15 years of crossing "The Ditch" to the Sounds or Tasman Bay I was looking for a little more adventure. I was also about to have my 55th birthday and the suspicion was growing that if I did not attempt a longer coastal passage soon...

Last year’s trip to Auckland gave Gavin inspiration as this year he sailed to Lyttleton. His memory of the trip down is hazy due to illness and tiredness. Gavin’s report is as follows: I decided to head for Lyttleton the day after school finished and set the alarm for...

I have now crossed Cook Strait so many times I have lost count. Here is an account of my last crossing. One I will never forget.   They say that every picture tells a story..... look at the next two pictures and imagine the story that links them together. What has my...

A fibreglass H28 cruising yacht which left New Zealand four years ago, vaguely aiming at Australia, arrived back in Auckland on the 30th November after going right round the world – the first New Zealand H28 to do so. A small flotilla of yachts from the H28 Owners’...

A friend who has a bach at Whangaroa invited me to his 60th birthday party which was to have a Woodstock theme. Replying that I would attend, it then occurred to me that this would present an ideal opportunity to give Gypsy Rose a good run. Having spent most of the...

Some tips and ideas from our trip Tio Pepe and her crew went up to Kawau Island on 3 December 2004 hoping to have a few days of relaxation in the sun. The company and relaxation were great; the sun part was a joke as it was missing most of the time. The sail there was...

A year ago we hoped to make our first cruise to the Marlborough Sounds. However, an offer of extra work meant we needed to stay at home to further develop the business. This was the year for us to go. Six weekends prior to departure were taken up with preparations,...

I had for some time been contemplating a trip to  Stewart Island which I last visited in 1982 with a  group of deer stalkers from Oamaru. I hoped this time around to see more of this beautiful and unique part of New Zealand. My memories were of beautiful bays with...

I had sailed to Fiji twice before once on a Jennau 45ft and a Jennau 44ft. I also built "Sea Dove" 22 years ago with the idea of sailing her to Fiji, and there fore had built her with extra strength namely extra stringers and bulkheads. But when it came to the point...

Yes we have fallen heir to Sealeg and whilst probably a bit more worn than when you last saw her, she is still in good condition. How did we come to own her here in Scotland you may well ask? About 5 or 6 years ago we were visiting a friend in Gibraltar and to cut a...

For a year Trevor and Mary Gregory had been readying the boat to eventually take it home to Brisbane. A previous owner had sailed Tranquillo to Fiji and Tonga but the rules and regulations for off shore cruising have become tougher. After much time and expense...

It came again. A thundering express train roaring toward us, a thousand miles out in the Tasman sea. We braced ourselves against the lee-boards, but it was done without thinking now, after twenty-four hours. The waiting was the worst: the noise a warning of what was...