Crew Available: traveling the world without airplanes, who is sailing from AUS to NZ?

[Clara Scheer]

Clara (from Vienna, Austria) and I (from Hamburg, Germany) are traveling the world for about a year now. We used all means of transport in the universe to get from Europe to Bali except from airplanes and space ships. We hitch-hiked over the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan, spent an entire week on trains through China, and cycled from Hong Kong to Bangkok on two recumbent tricycles. Finally we flew into Darwin because of a visa extension failure and the "low-season" in the Timor sea. We then successfully hitch-hiked through the Outback to the East Coast just in time before cyclone Oswald had flooded the roads. Here we are now and would be delighted to get on your yacht to help out on the way to New Zealand.
Our world trip without airplanes has been an epic journey so far, a swimming pool full of both overwhelmingly warm freshwater encounters and absurd, salty experiences. The only puzzle piece missing is the sailing boat. We try to live our lives with respect to the environment and have felt the multifarious benefits a slow pace brings with. However, one dream remains untouched - blue water sailing! Crossing vast oceans with natural power, it seems so amazing that we're willing to bunk in the tiniest cabin and stand through the most challenging psychological group tensions. We can't really boast with a hell lot of experience, but we have a strong will and we're more than motivated
If you plan on sailing to New Zealand in the course of the next month (mid-February to mid-March 2013), or if you know of someone who does, please get in touch with us! We'd love to meet you and verify our ideas and characters harmonize. For the departure port, we're totally flexible. Looking forward to meet you!
Moritz & Clara

[ozskipper]

What town are you in at the moment. I highly suggest you get to some local yacht clubs at international port towns and look for Kiwi flags. Gladstone, Sydney, Brisbane etc etc. Good luck :-D

[Clara Scheer]

hi, thanks for the flag-advice . we are in sydney at the moment and visiting all the yacht clubs. do you have any suggestion, which club international sailor would rather choose to stop?
thank you ozskipper!

[atoll]

half the trick of hitching rides on yachts is being in the right place at the right time.

you may be lucky to find a yacht leaving from sydney to nz. at this time

generally with the end of cyclone season(april)it is more common that you will find yachts leaving nz for fiji,and the east coast of australia,which also coincides with the good season to cruise the barrier reef and northen australia.

april-may also see's yachts leaving from darwin for indonesia,and africa.
get your seasons right and it is fairly easy to hitch ride's on yachts,but during the wrong season you will have very little chance of finding a ride.

[Clara Scheer]

hi atoll,
I am aware of the importence of the seasons. but thanks for your wind tipps. if you say with the end of the cyclone season there are yachts going from nz to fiji and the east coast of australia, do you think they would go the other way to?
hopefully, hopefully, fingers crossed

[atoll]

Originally Posted by Clara Scheer

hi atoll,
I am aware of the importence of the seasons. but thanks for your wind tipps. if you say with the end of the cyclone season there are yachts going from nz to fiji and the east coast of australia, do you think they would go the other way to?
hopefully, hopefully, fingers crossed

now is getting towards the end of the season for crossing sydney to nz,but you may be lucky.
as others said check out kiwi boats in the marina,their is a radio net(keri keri) every morning and evening,perhaps you could ask someone to mention you on it if you can find a boat with ssb radio.

boats going fiji to nz generally go in sept/october,though many leave from vanuatu and new caledonia at this time.

quite a few boats do the circuit ,which is leaving vanuatu to bundaberg in october,then spend the summer on the east coast and tasmania,cross to nz in feb,then leave nz for fiji in april.

going the other way direct from queensland to nz is generally done in sept/oct
but most follow the curcuit and avoid the worst of cyclone season up north.

good luck and try get on the radio net