Kiapa

Kiapa is a 52ft Morelli Melvin gunboat catamaran, built in Oregon, USA. We bought her in San Francisco in 2011. Her owners are Lionel and Irene Bass, who hail from Perth, Australia.

Recent Updates

Posted: Mon, 5 Jun 2017 - 09:06

Moored off the tiny little island of Laregnere, not too far from Noumea. There's good snorkelling to be had close by, so that'll be the order of the day.

Posted: Wed, 31 May 2017 - 15:23

Spent a couple of nights out at nearby islands and then came back in to Noumea to pop Don and Hugh on the plane back to NZ. BIG thanks to them both for their help with our passage. Tied up at Port du

Posted: Sat, 27 May 2017 - 19:24

We love New Caledonia! We have already had more swims than we had in our 5 months in NZ!! Checking in with Customs, Immigration and Biosecurity this morning was a breeze! We thought we may be 'boat

Posted: Fri, 26 May 2017 - 12:27

Nearly there! What a glorious night's sailing - 100% the opposite to the night before! The screecher is out, the hairy chests are also out, and we are looking forward to checking in later today.

Posted: Thu, 25 May 2017 - 07:24

You know the song "Oh what a night"..... well that describes last night for us. We had a good day's sail yesterday and covered a lot of ground, but by sunset the sky was an ominous black and the

Posted: Wed, 24 May 2017 - 12:12

As I write this the sun is rising, and what pretty pinky orange hues are highlighting the horizon. The winds have 'settled' in terms of both direction and strength, so as there's no sail adjustments

Posted: Tue, 23 May 2017 - 07:24

Yeehah, we are not wearing socks or slippers - well not during the day anymore. We had a good day's sailing yesterday and an even better night last night. Haha, boys will always be boys! As the swell

Posted: Mon, 22 May 2017 - 07:30

We had a great start to our passage to New Cal yesterday. After motoring for a couple of hours to get out the Bay we motor-sailed and then sailed into the night. The wind was light and variable for

Posted: Sun, 21 May 2017 - 10:19

Yeehah, we are off the dock and underway to the tropics. New Caledonia here we come. We hope the passage will take 4-5 days, all going well. Thanks to Don Salthouse and Hugh Stocker for crewing with

Posted: Tue, 16 May 2017 - 13:41

Like everyone else, we are still 'relaxing' in Opua, waiting for the weather gods to organise a nice weather window for us to head north. Looks like the end of this week may be okay - we are looking

Posted: Mon, 8 May 2017 - 08:31

Moved up to the Bay of Islands, waiting for the next weather window to head north to New Caledonia. While we wait for Cyclone Donna to dissipate we are enjoying getting out on the bikes - today we a

Sunrise in the beautifully still but foggy morning a few hours ago.

Posted: Wed, 3 May 2017 - 12:44

Hanging in at Marsden Cove, waiting for the weather further north to improve - like everyone else, we don't like the look of the tropical depression near Vanuatu! This morning we woke up to an

This gives some idea of how huge she is!!

Posted: Sat, 25 Feb 2017 - 17:12

<p>No wind today so motored down to Urquhart's Bay. Nothing like dropping the anchor, jumping in the dinghy, and free diving for scallops. Dinner is going to be yummy tonight!</p>

Posted: Thu, 23 Feb 2017 - 17:12

Tacked up in Mimiwhangata with 5 other boats, after a beaut sail from Whangaroa today. We are headed for Marsden Cove and next week we are flying to Nelson to do the Grape Cycle ride with our Aussie

Posted: Sun, 19 Feb 2017 - 12:24

On a mooring at Mangonui. Enjoying chasing the kitesurfing wind and waves on the northern tip of New Zealand.

Posted: Sun, 12 Feb 2017 - 08:23

We had a relaxing sail from Whangaroa Harbour to Mangonui - powered by the screecher only - a couple of days ago. This historic whaling town will be our base for the next couple of weeks. We have

Posted: Thu, 9 Feb 2017 - 08:39

Saw the unusually shaped sunfish sunning itself at the surface yesterday while underway from Paihia. Quite something!! Now snugly anchored in a very protected bay here in Whangaroa Harbour as buckets

Posted: Mon, 6 Feb 2017 - 14:57

Anchored off Paihia in the Bay of Islands. Today is Waitangi Day and we are enjoying watching the various celebrations to mark this auspicious historical event, including about 70 guys manoeuvring

Posted: Sat, 14 Jan 2017 - 12:07

KIAPA, THE MORELLI MELVIN GUNBOAT CATAMARAN, IS FOR SALE Call Lionel on +64 (0)204 024 4212 Kiapa, The stunning aqua-coloured Morelli Melvin designed 52ft (15.8M) catamaran, is for sale. Custom

Posted: Thu, 12 Jan 2017 - 14:40

Back at Marsden Cove Marina, Whangarei, after 2 lovely weeks out at Great Barrier Island. Tomorrow we drive down to Tauranga to pet/house sit for some good friends of ours. Yay, some doggy and kitten

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Kiapa

Kiapa

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