This year I am taking part in the Island Cruising New Zealand (ICNZ) Pacific Rally in my yacht Libertalia, and thought I would record my adventures in the form of a blog (this being the first entry).
The ICNZ has been around for about 10 years and organizes yacht rallies in the Pacific every other year. In 2019, the biggest fleet ever, some 40 boats, will be setting sail from New Zealand at the end of May to visit Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia over a 6-month period, returning at the end of October before the cyclone season.
We purchased Libertalia last year with the intention of doing the rally and have been steadily upgrading her to meet stringent Category 1 safety standards, a requirement of all NZ registered vessels leaving New Zealand.
She is a 2009 Leopard 40 Foot Catamaran with an owner?s configuration (meaning the whole Starboard hull is for the owner; double berth, large en-suite bathroom and office), while the Port hull consists of 2 double berths and a separate bathroom. She is ideal for cruising the Pacific as she has a large covered cockpit and main saloon which is great for pirate parties.
Libertalia was a legendary free colony of pirates, founded and ruled by Captain Mission, and reputed to have be located on Madagascar. Their motto was said to be ?for God and liberty?, and thier flag was white, in contrast to the Jolly Roger. The citizens were anarchists, waging war against states, attacking ships, sparing prisoners and freeing slaves. Not a bad name for a boat I thought.
http://thepirateempire.blogspot.com/2017/12/as-i-have-mentionedbefore-g… As we get nearer the time of departure, I?ll give an overview of the rally and what?s instore on this grand adventure.