The Bach is a Fountaine Pajot Orana 44 sailing catamaran.

The Orana is known for her ocean-going capability, her comfortable layout, and ease of sailing. All the vessel specifications, the layout, and interior pictures are on The Boat page.

The Bach is a sailing catamaran built in France and designed to cross oceans - and she has. So not only is she safe by design as a sailing yacht more than capable of meeting the demands of Hauraki Gulf sailing, she has also been significantly upgraded to meet the very stringent standards required of boats in charter by Maritime New Zealand.

These requirements mean boats in charter must be fitted with significantly more safety equipment that yachts used only recreationally by their owners.  Just some of the safety-related upgrades we have made are:

• All new standing rigging, sail drives, rudders, and steering cables.
• Upgraded all essential electrical systems and associated wiring, and improved battery capacity and monitoring.
• Installed 6 new large bilge pumps, increasing the total capacity that can be pumped in an emergency by 10 times.
• Added a fire pump system, and increased fire extinguisher capacity.
• Replaced or updated all the safety equipment you would expect - lifejackets, charts and navigational aids, first aid kit etc.

On a bareboat charter, you are the Skipper and your guests are the crew. Command of a vessel carries significant responsibility for safety, in law and in practice. Our overriding criteria is the safety of you, your ships' company and the vessel.

No formal qualification is required to charter The Bach, but a prospective Skipper must provide evidence of significant experience in charge of a vessel of similar size and configuration. You will be sent a Skippers Resume form as part of the booking process to establish whether your charter would be a safe proposition based on your knowledge and experience.

• "Significant experience" is normally acquired over years of sailing and/or boat ownership.
• "In charge of" refers to being the legal Skipper of vessels.
• "Of a similar type" means vessels of a similar size, weight and hull configuration.

You do!

As the Skipper, you have full responsibility for the operation of the vessel, including safety and navigation. You will be given a full briefing on the vessel equipment, procedures and local navigation, but this is designed to mitigate the risks of unfamiliarity with the craft and not to teach the basics.

It is important that the Skipper is already competent in vessel handling, seamanship, navigation, piloting and the ColRegs, and our partners at Charterlink will ask all skippers for a declaration to that effect, and an outline of experience in their "Skippers Resume". Your insurance coverage of the vessel depends on this being accurate.

The available cruising grounds cover the Hauraki Gulf area, the east coast of the North Island as far North as the Cavalli Islands, and as far south as Whitianga on the east side of the Coromandel Peninsula, and including the western anchorages of Great Barrier Island.

The exact area available is dependent on the length of charter, and any current local restrictions that may be in place.

More detail on the cruising grounds can be found on the Charterlink website.

The possibilities are endless! In the Hauraki Gulf, there are more anchorages than there are days in the year, so you will never be short of an amzing location to drop the hook for an evening.

In the Auckland area alone there are art walks and wineries on Waiheke Island, bird sanctuaries on many islands including Tiritiri Matangi and Rotoroa, the "best little boat club in the world" on Kawau Island, or the cityscape of Auckland, walking to the top of a dormant volcano (Rangitoto), countless white sand beaches to swim at, and safe, clear water to jump into everywhere.

There are 47 pest-free islands with prolific native birdlife, one of the world's largest accessible cruising grounds with new anchorages just an hour away, marine reserves, calm clear waters, unique sea life, friendly boaties, and ocean-style sailing adventures to Great Barrier or the Bay of Islands. Plus, a mild climate to top it off.

The Bach can accommodate 10 guests for overnight charters. Her layout is known as the 'charter' version meaning she has a 4 cabin layout. All cabins are ensuite.

• The master cabin is the aft cabin in the starboard hull. It has a walk-around king-size bunk.
• The second 'main' cabin, aft in the port hull, has a superking sized bunk.
• The two forward cabins are both queen sized bunks.
• The table in the saloon converts to a queen size berth.

The main saloon can sit 10 when using the extra chairs provided, and has 360-degree views, and the large cockpit seating area can also seat 10.

The helm seat is large enough for three, so the skipper never needs to be on their own.

There is a spacious fully equipped galley with a hob and oven, two refrigerators, and ample storage. There's even a BBQ for evenings you want to cook outside.

The Bach carries 570L of fresh water. This is more than enough for a multi-day charter. We have found when we have two families on board, this will easily last 4-5 days, with good water conservation practices.

There are locations in the Hauraki Gulf where it is possible to refil water tanks, and passages should be planned with this in mind on longer charters.

We work with our partners at Charterlink, who manage the charter process.  The minimum charter periods are set by them, and are subject to change.

As a general rule, over the summer (November - April) and shoulder (October and May) seasons, the minimum charter is three (3) days.

Super easy! She has a large mainsail raised on the electric winch, with all halyards and sheets directed to the helm position. Her foresail is a roller reefing jib, again with all lines operated from the helm position.

If there's not enough wind to sail, or you just don't fancy it, there are two 39hp Yanmar engines that are reliable, serviced regularly, and will get you to where you want to go.

The Bach is very maneouvrable, but being a catamaran she does require some practice.

Be prepared. Document your sailing experience and expertise. Understand the Hauraki Gulf area, take the time when you board to familiarise yourself with the vessel's procedures and equipment following the in depth briefing you will get. 

Most of all be ready to have fun, try new things, and experience the best of what New Zealand offers.