Autumn Newsletter '07

Ahoy there crewmember ,

Well daylight saving has come and gone for another season with Easter having just had the best weather for many a year. Summer is still lingering nicely here in the Marlborough Sounds and we are looking forward to a great autumn with a mild winter on its way.

The Compass Charters summer season was the best here for many seasons with lots of you NZ/Aus regulars returning to the area and many old and new international crews from Europe, USA, South America and Asia enjoying the paradise we have here in the Sounds. We had an accident free summer with only the usual incidences with winch handles, buckets and boat hooks adding to the topography on the Queen Charlotte bottom. We did have the usual mild sunburn with the odd stubbed toe or 2, so all in all, an extremely successful summer on the water.

We received great feedback from all of you and we were happy to provide you with our service and would like to offer our service again the next time you visit this special part of the world.

We are still in full flow with bookings as it is still school holiday time at present. The Compass Crew want to tell you about a new addition to our fleet and also bring to your attention a few specials we are running soon. Anzac day is a couple of weeks away and we are offering a great 4 days for the price of 3 deal - see below.

We still have some spots left just before we go into the economy season and the weather is great. So give us a call you may get a great deal.

Autumn and Winter specials

• Anzac Day/Weekend deal - We are running a special for Anzac Day weekend of 4 days for the price of 3. Arrive at the base for around noon on Wednesday ( Anzac Day – 25th) and after getting your full briefing you can head straight out of the marina and get your adventure underway. Then arrive back at the marina at 12 noon Sunday the 29th April. As the Anzac Day special is 4 days for the price of 3, this works out to a 25% price reduction so call us to reserve a vessel for you.

We are also running Winter Deals (May the 1st till Labour Weekend - 18th of October) on most boats which are,

• Winter mid week break - 3 days mid week for the price of 2. This option is only available between 12 noon Mondays till 12 noon on Fridays. (33% off economy rates - great deal!)
• Winter weekend getaway - 5pm Friday night to 5 pm Sunday night (48 hrs – 5% off economy rate) with free bedding to keep you snug on board (Duvet + sheets and a towel per person – usually $15 per set), plus 2 fishing rods per boat. As usual the free pick up and drop off between 8am – 5pm from Picton is standard. Most of our Launches have diesel heaters installed so you will have cosy nights onboard and crisp clear days.
• Boat and a batch relax - Hire a runabout and a batch in the sounds. We have a fully furnished 3 bedroom batch with own mooring and jetty in Endeavour Inlet. It is the perfect spot to get away from the pace of city life. Explore the sounds during the day with your own runabout. Fish, dive, bush walks, water-skiing or just read a book, you have the best of both worlds ashore and afloat. Prices start at $430 (depending on which runabout you choose) for 24 hrs. Minimum stay is 48hrs. Leave on a Friday afternoon and spend all day Saturday in your own paradise then head back Sunday afternoon.

The runabouts we use for this special is Compass Rose , Huntsman and Chi

All our batch's are around 40 minutes boat drive away.

Call us to enquire on all our winter specials on 0800 101 332

Photo Competition

We are running a photo competition and we would like any of your holiday snaps this season as we are redesigning our ads in Boating NZ, Fishing NZ, Tourism NZ, NZ Outside, various other media along with our website. We want some great pics of you so we can use them in the above media. The prize for the winning photo is an extra day free with your next charter with us. (Minimum of a 3 day charter booked required to be eligible - See conditions on our special offers page on our website )

Here are a few suggestions (and rules!),

• We need fishing photos, diving photos, cruising photos, sailing shots, scenic photos etc.
• If a boat is in the shot, it has to be from one that is in our current fleet.
• No “naughty” photos!!
• Mark the email/attachments as “Photo competition 2007”
• Keep the file size down under 250KB.

We are pleased to announce "Windamere" a Markline 1100 Deluxe , as a new addition to our fleet. This 36ft planning launch cruises at 16kts with a top speed of 24kts powered by twin 200hp turbo Volvo on shafts. It has all the mod cons and latest electronics onboard to make life very comfortable out there on the water. The boat is one of the best Markline 1100’s in the country and has proven to be a very popular design for the Kiwi market.

With full Raymarine electronics, excellent engines on shafts, great fridge and galley facilities, secure cockpit for families and speedy cruising, this makes an ideal craft to explore the vast sounds we have here if your time schedule is limited.

The boat will be available for charter in our fleet very soon as it is undergoing full survey at present and we estimate that it will be available from May the 15th onwards. We already have a lot of interest in it for next summer so check it out under "Windamere"  on our website (It will be updated with more photos very soon) and call us to enquire on availability.

We also have two other (35ft & 39ft) launches and a 36ft yacht also coming into the bareboat fleet during the winter so keep an eye on our website and we will keep you posted on this.

Fishing  

That's it from us here for the time being until our "Winter Newsletter" in June.

Seas the day!