Ocean Passages

Just a few of the upgrades from Ultima’s latest yard period in lovely Whangarei, New Zealand.

1. Some serious maintenance and work on her boom including installing lazy jacks! Finally after 6 years of doing things the hardest way possible (often my favorite way to do things). Dropping the main will no longer be a 2-3 person balancing act of flaking, dropping, and attempting to gather all the sail in an act akin to folding a napkin onto a toothpick while riding a tilt-a-whirl.

2. New hard solar panels totaling 460W. With more power we should be able to keep the batteries topped off even as we sail nearly due West across the Indian Ocean. We struggled on our Pacific Crossing with the sails shading the panels in the mid afternoon, and had to motor on occasion to keep the batteries up.
also replaced our broken radar under warranty. So we will once again be able to track squalls, navigate fog, and see other vessels while using this marvelous technology.

3. Our solid fiberglass deck had just one spot with some coring, under the windlass, presumably to stiffen the deck for the loads put on the windlass by the anchor and chain. That coring, rotten since we bought the boat, is now replaced with new marine ply and properly glassed in so it should stay dry and solid for years to come. With the foredeck rebuilt we decided to go ahead and get a brand new Lofrans windlass and new chain, We now have 100 m in one length of 10mm G40 chain with another 50m of 16mm 8 plait nylon rode. The anchor locker also got its shelf for the secondary anchor rebuilt and a fresh coat of paint.

4. Finally we got a brand new drive unit for our beloved hydrovane. Our hydrovane has steered Ultima over 30,000 miles since we installed it back in 2021, and was getting a bit tired, especially after some botched maintenance by yours truly. Thanks to Will and Sarah and the whole team

I’m looking forward to getting back onboard and a fun sail up to New Caledonia at the end of the month.

Splash day with a 7 month baby bump. Ultima is feeling a little more like home again after an almost 4 month yard period. Thank you to Norsand Yacht Services and all the contractors in Whangārei who worked hard while we were away.

Ultima is now gearing up for her journey to New Caledonia at the end of the month and I’m already having a little FOMO for missing out on these next few passages. All will be worth it come May when we get to meet our little boy/girl.

🐣 Any guesses?

We have a last minute cancellation and open berth available on our next Heavy Weather Passage
from New Zealand to New Caledonia with Nathan on SV Ultima.

28 March - 07 April 2026

Email us directly at
[email protected] or
[email protected]

We’ll be hanging out and discussing sailing and cruising topics with , .kaia, & at the tomorrow.

Join us tomorrow on Saturday, January 31 at 1100!

Come get cozy and hide from the rain! ⛈️

We’ve been quiet on the socials lately but it’s because we’ve been preparing for a new addition to the Ultima crew.

We had a busy last few weeks but had the pleasure to attend John & Tadji’s party for all the shipmates who have sailed on Quetzal for over 20 years. Seeing everyone who has traveled far and wide to be part of their story gave us all the more reason to keep pressing on with our own sailing journey. It’s been a challenge wondering all the what’s and where’s and how’s but if sailing has taught us anything, it’s just to go with the flow. 🌊

We always joked that it took both of us to do what does. But after 6 years running Ocean Passages and sailing over 50,000nm conducting 47 training passages aboard Ultima, Nathan is still keen and eager as ever to continue crossing oceans with our amazing crew while me and baby will meet him along the way.

2027 schedule will be posted soon but we will only be changing a couple passages around so Nathan can be around for the birth. For now, we’re celebrating, taking it easy, and looking forward to meeting our little one due in May.

Happy holidays and much love from Nathan & Vivian.

Thanks for the cute pics of us all dressed up to &

Check out oceanpassages.substack.com for our latest update, our whereabouts and what we have going on in the future. 🕊️

Summer Newsletter out on Substack.

An Unexpected Blow and all the life that happens between passages

Writing on Substack 👇🌊
Find us on substack.com/

As we say good bye to 2024, we feel grateful to have had our last sail of the year with my Mom, Becky and her partner Steve join us in the Marquesas. It was an even better reward when we were greeted by a family of oceanic mantas. We’ve seen them around various anchorages predominantly during full moons. After a long weekend relaxing, we hauled Ultima out on a rainy day at high tide. It’s Ultima’s turn now for some resting as we visit family and friends for the holidays.

Wishing everyone near and far a warm 2025. May all your dreams become reality and that you are surrounded by all the things that make you feel lighter and happier. 🌞🌝

We sat down for an interview with Gretchen from about how we started our business and how it’s been going for the last 5 years.

We’ve sailed almost 50,000 miles on Ultima. We share our insight on what it’s like aboard and how you too can pursue your sailing dreams.

Go follow Gretchen and Tim’s adventure on YouTube as they sail on their Catalina 42!

Enjoy 😊 ⛵️ Thank you to Gretchen for your time and conversation!

Ocean Passages + John Kretschmer: A Match Made At Sea In this episode, we sit down with Nathan and Vivian, the dynamic duo behind Ocean Passages, a company that invites sailors of all levels to experience the ma...

A stop in the Tuamotus. 🏝️

Spending the year in French Polynesia allowed us to sail to many unique locations. For most of the season we based ourselves in the Society Islands. Even though we sail to a schedule, it didn’t stop us from making the most out of whatever weather came our way.

A 200nm sail from Tahiti brought us to the Tuamotus, an almost unbelievable archipelago of stunning atolls. We made a brief stop in Rangaroa before continuing on to Fakarava, one of the most beautiful atolls in the world, famous for diving and snorkeling. We were surrounded by marine life all the time. Can you spot our aquatic entourage in the water?

One thing about sailing in French Polynesia is the ever present southerly swell. Knowing that we may have 3m swell while sailing on a deep reach back to Tahiti, we rigged the whisker pole while Ultima was peacefully resting on our mooring, before heading out the pass.