Queenstown’s wandering catamaran has undertaken her next journey.
Two and a-half weeks ago, the 20m, Wharram-designed ‘Ruawaka’ slipped her Frankton Arm mooring of almost 20 years during high winds.
After being spotted and corralled by Kelvin Heights resident Warren Skerrett, she was guided into the Kelvin Grove beach by local Coastguard vollies.
Ironically, this was just days before her new co-owner, Belgium-born, Switzerland-based Fred Uyttebroeck, was due to pick her up.
He’d long wanted to take a Wharram cat ocean sailing, and found Ruawaka’s original owner/builder, former Queenstowner Stu Rolph, who’s now based in Thailand, had put her up for sale early this year.
Fred, 41, says he and his wife Claire, both teachers, have nothing to complain about, however ‘‘retirement is 30 years from now’’.
‘‘Can I do this for 30 more years, I don’t know, maybe I need some change, and Claire says, all the time, it’s an adventure.’’
Coastguard on Thursday towed the cat to Kingston, where she’ll be dismantled for trucking to Dunedin’s Port Chalmers, where she’ll be refitted.
Fred says he and Claire, whose children are 6 and 4, probably won’t sail her, initially in the Pacific Ocean, for at least a year.
They also plan to charter her out — the boat can sleep 10.
‘‘When we don’t want to carry on any more, we’re going to sell it again, if it’s still worth something.’’
