This week:
Wind!! Lots of wind!! Followed by some lovely weather, then more wind and waves!!
Our twice yearly refuelling (bunkering)
New covers for our galley hatch, stern seat and mast bases
Stripping varnish from, and refinishing steering locker base
We’ve had a lovely week, with lots of delightful passengers coming to cruise with us. This being said, it’s been a very challenging week for all tourism operators to keep guests comfortable in the weather. We’ve been cheering for the floatplanes (Wings and Water) and the Real NZ glow worm caves boat (The “Luminosa”) as they’ve continued providing top class local experiences alongside us during some very trying conditions.
We collected a little montage of Faith’s flag (Ensign) to capture just how much flapping has been happening, and I think that the state of the hem on Saturday evening gives a good idea of the “breezes’ we’ve been experiencing!!
We’ve been really enjoying seeing passengers choosing to take “merch” home with them, and for the first time we were asked to sign one of the caps. Fun!! Thank you always for choosing to purchase souvenirs, as it allows us to achieve so much more with our restoration and upkeep of Faith. This week we farewelled 12 Teeshirts, 4 packets of fudge, 2 Hoodies, 2 books, 2 magnet packs, and a (signed) cap. Thank you again – we hope they give you many moments of enjoyment.
This week we were able to purchase covers for the stern table seating, the galley hatch, and the mast bases. We’re ensuring that any timber surface which has been refinished gets a cover made, to minimise required maintenance and allow us to focus on rejuvenating new areas. Nathan from Fiordland Canvas and Sails continues to do a wonderful job for us, and is a wonderful supporter of what we do being a wooden boat owner/ restorer and enthusiast himself.
We visited our friends at Real NZ for a diesel top up from the pump on their wharf. Typically we do this just twice a year, with a fill of 1298 litres this time. It’s lovely to pop up all three sails most cruises – to enjoy the magic of sailing with the engine off, but also as a nod to sustainable tourism and minimising our minimal emissions.
It’s been wonderful watching Megan and Sophie working so well, especially given the weather this week. Very grateful for their efforts and hard work. There has been a lot of wheel spinning and line pulling to keep Faith shipshape and on an even keen, and they’ve excelled in giving our passengers special experiences. We’ve been delighted to read new reviews coming in this week. Thank you so much to those of you who take the time to write about your experience afterwards – it’s such a help to ensure that potential passengers have an impartial overview of what to expect.
These reviews have been a wonderful prompt to aim for suitable content, and task completion. Looking forward to knocking through more achievements this coming week to share with you soon!!
Thanks again,
Adam and Megan, and the team from Fiordland Historic Cruises
