georgebackhus on November 19th, 2001

November 19, 2001 - The Round Rangitoto Race With SetSail-MaxSea

 

Two of the wonderful things about being based in Auckland for the summer are the very active race scene here, and all the beautiful islands in close proximity to the city.
We took advantage of both last Saturday and participated in the Round Rangitoto Race, sponsored by [...]

Continue reading about The ‘Round Rangitoto Race

georgebackhus on October 22nd, 2001

After five months of cruising in “the boonies,” re-entry into civilization is a bit of a shocker. It is great to be back “home” in Auckland, but it may take us a while to catch our breath and adjust from “island time” to the pace of a big city.
We’ve parked Moonshadow in her previous home [...]

Continue reading about Back in the First World.

georgebackhus on July 6th, 2001

Early Sunday Morning, we sailed out of Noumea and stopped in the spacious and well-protected Baie du Prony. Prony is situated just inside the barrier reef from Havannah Pass, the main shipping route into New Caledonia’s huge lagoon from the east.
We sailed out at first light on Monday morning and began a very fast, wet [...]

Continue reading about The Tanna Rally: New Caledonia to Vanuatu

georgebackhus on February 23rd, 2001

 
Cruising on land for a change.

When my good friend and old Chico State fraternity brother Rob Salisbury asked me to join him on a business trip to Canberra and Melbourne, I jumped on the opportunity. I had wanted to see both cities and just hadn’t made the time. Rob has been living and working in [...]

Continue reading about A Road Trip to Canberra and Melbourne (And a Bit of Yacht Racing)

georgebackhus on June 8th, 2000

May 27, 2000
America’s Cup Village, Auckland, New Zealand
A dozen yachts including Moonshadow are lined up here in what was the center of the yacht racing world last  Southern Hemisphere summer. In the attached photo (unavailable at this time), Moonshadow is directly below the Sky Tower, an icon of the Auckland skyline. Most of the mega [...]

Continue reading about Passage Logs: Auckland to Savusavu Race

georgebackhus on July 22nd, 1996

The concept of racing Moonshadow in the Pacific Cup came about while sailing on the Bay with my friends Kathy and Andy Eggler one afternoon last summer. After a few beers, Andy commented “you know, this would be a great boat to sail to Hawaii in the Pacific Cup”. After a few more beers, I [...]

Continue reading about The Pacific Cup, San Francisco to Hawaii, July 1996